Watching plaster dry

The church at Bodwrog is dedicated to St Twrog, a 6th-century scribe of St Beuno, but the building dates from the late 15th century. The church closed for regular worship in 2023 and we swept it up into our care. Last September, following competitive tender, Natural Building Centre started repairs to this lonely, windswept church thrust out of a rocky outcrop in the centre of Anglesey.

The biggest problem at this church was damp. The walls were green. The woodwork had turned to mush. A mixture of various issues caused the dampness. The church's position in the landscape is desperately romantic but hopelessly exposed to the elements. In the past, the walls were repaired internally with impervious materials, such as cement pointing and gypsum plaster. The drains are defective on the external ground level on the south side, holding moisture against the building. All of this was then coupled with minimal ventilation, so moisture was trapped within the building. The lack of air circulation meant the church could never dry out, and the rot set in.

Since September, the Natural Building Centre (NBC) has repaired the roof, overhauled the rainwater goods, raked out the cement pointing to the external walls and repointed in lime mortar, repaired the stone mullions and cills to the windows, and mended the badly rotten timber floors, panelling, and pews. They are in the process of redecorating the woodwork and getting glazing repairs underway.

As well as the works listed above, the NBC has removed the gypsum plaster from the internal walls and replastered them with air lime mortars. That's what we're waiting to dry. Once this is ready, the walls will be limewashed, and this little church will be transformed and, crucially, open for people to visit and use again.

We're a little biased, but we think it's looking so much happier already.