Published: 10/11/2023
Updated: 10/11/2023
It may be cold and rainy, but the work of a heritage charity continues in all weathers! We are currently carrying out repairs and maintenance at three medieval churches.
We are carrying out repairs to the 18th-century timber trusses to the west of the church roof and re-roofing the chancel. A 'secret gutter' (see illustration below) will help shed water and we are also installing new rainwater goods and doing localised repairs to window glazing. The interior will also be spruced up with limewash.
St Jerome's, Llangwm Uchaf, Monmouthshire
Exterior work at St Jerome's includes repointing of external masonry and localised glazing repairs to cracked quarries (panes of glass). Clearing moss from roof slopes is a critical maintenance job too, as moss gets washed off and clogs gutters and rainwater goods, which then causes problems of damp. Inside we are also re-routing electric cables and creating improved lighting of the interior and rood screen (currently there's just one working bulb which is facing AWAY from the screen…!)
We took this church into our care on 19 Nov 1999, and the building has only needed minimal repairs over the past 24 years … but now, the roof is getting a bit tired – we’ve been serially patching for a few years, so it’s time to strip the slates and re-roof, overhaul rainwater goods, and repair and redecorate the woodwork to windows and doors.
Please note that Penmorfa and Fordham churches are currently closed to visitors. Thank you for your understanding. For the latest visitor information, please go to the information page for each church: Penmorfa, Llangwm Uchaf, Fordham.
Can you help us with our work? We care for 64 redundant places of worship in England and Wales — historic buildings which need continual maintenance — and we have adopted four more beautiful ancient churches so far this year, three of which have significant and costly structural challenges.
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