Summary 

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Considerable work is required to be done to conserve our beautiful village church for future generations.  Because of the magnitude of the project, it has been divided into 2 stages. 

 

The first stage has been completed and was to address the critical repairs to the leaking chancel roof and repairs to the stonework  of the chancel and east and south side of the bell tower, also to replace the rainwater goods around the chancel.

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The second stage is to repair the roof of the south transept and south side of the nave.  Also to replace the rainwater goods.  The stonework on the rest of the bell tower and the other 3 transepts needs to be repaired and replaced.  The last stage is to repair the stonework around the windows.

 

What we plan to do 

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The cost of the above work is over £1,000,000, which is beyond what we could possibly raise in the village and we have sought grants from other sources.

 

We plan to do the work in stages:

 

Stage 1  Chancel and East Side of Bell Tower, June - December 2019

• Repair the damaged stone work on the east elevation and south butress of the bell tower.

• Lift the Horsham slabs and underlying tiles and repair the structure of roof of the chancel as necessary,

• Remove, replace and repair any damaged beams, lathes and plaster, check for deathwatch beetle and treat if necessary

• Fit new roof waterproof membrane covering the roof on the chancel.

• Replace the tiles and Horsham slabs using new ones where necessary.

• Replace the gutters and drainpipes of both sides of the chancel.

• Re-point and resurface the Hurtwood stonework on the high gables of the chancel and south transept.

• Repair and replace the ceiling inside the chancel

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These items of work have been chosen as they are the areas to the church which show the most damage.  This stage cost around £300,000, which includes the survey and planning costs of £30,000

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Stage 2 - in 2020 or 2021

• Fit new roof covering on the south transept and the south side of the nave.

• Repair the roof areas of the vestry and the north side of the nave

• Repair the stonework  on the south and north sides of the bell tower and at the top of the walls of the vestry and north side of the nave and replace the guttering and down pipes

• Investigate and repair the ceilings on the the south transept, the nave and the vestry

• Repair the rest of the stonework on the church walls including around the windows

This stage is estimated to cost over £700,000

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Fund Raising

The Heritage Lottery Fund have given a grant of £200,000 towards stage 1.  Once the project is completed it is expected that we can get a grant to cover the £50,000 of VAT costs included in the above figures, but it will take several months for this and so we have to raise the money to bridge it.

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We plan to raise the funds for stage 2 by applying for grants and through more fund raising events.

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Grant applications

The Heritage Lottery Fund for Grants for Places of Worship have awarded us £200,000 towards the cost of stage 1.

 

We have received other grants from:

National Churches Trust

Surrey Churches Preservation Trust

ChurchCare

The Wolfson Foundation

Ellens Green Memorial Hall Fund

Ewhurst Parish Council.

Ewhurst Bell Ringers

Ewhurst Carnival

Ewhurst History Society

Ewhurst Secret Gardens

"Save a Slab" donations