Friends of St Mary's NEWS
PLEASE SEE SEPARATE LINK ON OUR WEBSITE FOR DETAILS OF FUND RAISING PIANO CONCERT SERIES.
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The Friends of St Mary's is a body set up expressly to raise funds for the repair of the fabric of St Mary's Church Baldock. Annual membership is a minimum of £25, larger donations will be most gratefully received. "The Friends" run regular special fund raising events throughout the year.
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Tower restoration update
Once again St. Mary’s Church spire can be seen, now virtually free of the scaffolding which has encased it for months. When the restoration work to the tower and spire is complete in a few months, Baldock will have a tower and spire conserved to the highest standard as a worthy legacy to future generations. The quality and skill of the experienced and dedicated craftsmen carrying out the restoration cannot be overestimated; they take great pride in the work that they do.
The lead work is now almost complete, with Maurice and his son, Paul, working hard to finish the remainder of the lead work; this has not been without complications and delays. First, the scaffolding had to be removed and a new temporary roof erected above the top of the tower and around the base of the spire (this could still be seen in mid January). Unfortunately the scaffold workers were inhibited by heavy rain and strong winds, so there was a delay before Maurice and Paul could start the lead work on the bottom section of the octagon and the floor on the top of the tower. Meanwhile, Eddie and his son, John, have made good progress on the final coats of render covering the corbel table and surface of the tower, with all new grotesques and fleurons now in place and looking magnificent; virtually all reconstruction of damaged and loose sections is complete and awaits render. While all this has been going on, carpenters, Darren and Ben, have been refitting the sixteen large bell chamber louvres, which they had restored and treated on site, with great skill and care. Then, as we all know, there was an unprecedented and lengthy spell of cold weather, followed by snow, which really was our worst fear if the work was to be completed on schedule. Maurice and Paul struggled on in the cold, but the lead became increasingly difficult to work and conditions were very uncomfortable for them. Darren and Ben were marginally better off, working inside the bell chamber, but it was impossible for Eddie and John to continue the rendering, and their work was suspended from late November to the second week of January. We could not risk mortar or render failing through frost. Because of the weather, the restoration project is behind schedule and the scaffolding will not be removed now until March – this being dependent on no more severe weather. One of the last jobs will be the installation of the two new clock faces. Then St. Mary’s Church tower and spire will look as good as new, be safe once more, and we shall hear the church bells ring again. Despite the English Heritage grant, and the fundraising over the last few years, which so many of you have helped with, it has been necessary for the church to take out loans of £150,000 to meet the shortfall in cost of the essential work to the tower and spire. So the fund-raising continues in order to minimise these loans and provide support for the many other restoration projects needed to preserve St. Mary’s church building.
