| St.
Barnabas, as it now stands, was constructed in the early 14th Century,
on the site of and incorporating parts of a small stone church built in
the early 12th Century. In the churchyard and at various points in the
foundations, are sarsen stones, which were thought to have been used to
form a burial chamber, constructed around 2000 B.C.
It seems certain therefore that there has
been over 4000 years of continuous worship, in one form or another, on
the same site.
Like so many country churches there is a
continuous struggle to meet the costs of maintaining the building and
the purse. The 2000 Quinquennial highlighted a number of major works
that needed to be undertaken as a matter of urgency. The task facing the
Churchwardens and PCC was daunting.
It was agreed that the best course of
action was to establish a charity, The Friends of St. Barnabas to take
on the maintenance and restoration of the church and churchyard on
behalf of the PCC. Mark Dawson was an immense help in this as he had
carried out similar exercises in the parishes of Nayland and Lamarsh. We
were able to copy the necessary documentation for establishing a “Friends”,
much of it wholesale, saving time and effort, and so we were off to a
flying start.
It became apparent from initial
discussions with possible sources of funding, that a key criterion was
that the Parish was seen to be doing its best to help itself and sustain
the building, and not being passive and merely holding out a hand. We
decided on the following course of action. A parishioner [Susan Langan]
wrote an excellent history of the church and a copy, together with a
letter explaining the pressing need to maintain and restore the
building, along with a Bankers Standing Order
and a tax reclaim certificate, were prepared for distribution. We were
aware that, as in every village, there are people of denominations other
than the C.of E. and many residents who simply are not interested in the
Church. We therefore believed it was important that our constitution
emphasised that funds raised were “by contribution to maintain,
repair, restore the fabric, together with the churchyard for the benefit
of the Public.”
The envelopes with the above contents
were then delivered by hand to every household in the village by a
dedicated team. If no one was at home in a house, we called again until
such time as we could hand over the package and explain, face to face,
what it was about. To those who said “not interested in the Church of
England, never go to church etc” we were able to put it across that
this appeal was not of a clerical nature, but that we thought that the
community would want to see the only significant building in the
village, which had stood there for around seven hundred years,
maintained rather than fall into ruin with an overgrown churchyard. This
was a strong point for some waverers.
The results of the appeal were very
rewarding. We have received to date, one off donations in excess of
£9,500 and annual standing orders of some £3,200, an outstanding
result for a parish with circa 150 residents. The
total includes kindly donations from friends in adjoining parishes and
others living afar off who had some connection with the church; married
there, grandparents buried there etc. These donations are of course
significantly boosted by tax rebates on most of them.
The principal work to be carried out was
the repair and restoration of the roofs of the S.nave and S.aisle
together with some minor works such as making good cracks in the chancel
arch. [More anon!] |
As
soon as the results of our local appeal were known and we could
demonstrate the parish’s determination to sustain our church, we
approached various charitable bodies for help. English Heritage were
eager to help but insisted that an exploratory examination of the work
to be done was carried out. This was a sensible precaution to hopefully
eliminate shocks and spiralling extras when work commenced and grants
had been signed off. This exploratory examination, involving
scaffolding, removal of some roof tiles, testing of timbers etc, cost
£13,000 of which English Heritage contributed 70%. With this to hand
the architect was able to prepare tight bid documents. Three tenders
were received and the lowest from Cater [Roofing Contractors] Ltd
accepted. Work commenced on time at the beginning of January and we soon
ran into a mighty snag.
When the exploratory examination of the
work was carried out it had not been thought necessary to put up
scaffolding for a detailed look at the cracks in the chancel arch, as
from the ground they appeared superficial. When scaffolding was erected
in this area it transpired that the cracks were in fact wide enough to
put an arm through and had been filled with insulating material some
forty years ago and plastered over. The structural integrity of the
chancel arch was at great risk and dealing with it the No.1 priority. We
were advised that rebuilding the arch would cost the sum of £27,000,
and had to be done at once, and if left to be dealt with later, would
cost more as scaffolding would have to be re-erected. The response
from our principal donors was fantastic.
English Heritage was keen to help but
unable to do so as they have firm rules and once a grant is signed off
it cannot be increased. Friends of Essex Churches and Essex Environment
Trust pledged additional funding and by committing our own reserves we
knew we could meet this additional call on resources.
All the main works including the
rebuilding of the chancel arch were completed to a high standard by
Cater’s, on time, within budget. The lead cladding on the south aisle
roof is an outstanding example of tradititional English craftsmanship
and readers are urged to come and see it if in the area. We would most
certainly recommend Cater’s, to other parishes or private individuals,
for similar work.
We have subsequently carried out some
minor works; particularly pleasing is the removal of ghastly opaque
plastic sheeting from the south windows and repair to the
stone mullions. We now have a much lighter and brighter church.
No sooner had we finished the above works
than the 2005 quinquennial landed on our doorsteps and we must now
undertake the restoration of the chancel roofs and some
underpinning of the north end of the chancel arch. Finally when the
structure is secured for the next few generations we hope to lime wash
the interior, replace the antiquated
heating system, and replace our woodworm riddled chairs. With the
continuing support of all those who have helped we will achieve our aim
of handing on a lovely old building, viable for many years to come. We
continue to travel hopefully.
The restoration work carried out at St.
Barnabas could not have been achieved without the wonderful support of
our main donors.
English Heritage
Friends of Essex Churches
Essex Environment Trust
Mark Maley |
