The beautiful Tower walls of the Grade 1 listed Church have been re-pointed with hydraulic lime mortar, and badly decayed lime-stone dressings replaced. Internally, the base of the Tower has been replastered, the floor of the Silence Chamber reconstructed incorporating the existing beams. Brick cappings to the stair turret has been replaced and the fragile walls partially rebuilt and repointed.The west wall of the nave has been lime washed including the Lady Chapel and South Porch. The conservation of the Old Chapel ruins will be completed within the next few weeks.
As part of our community action plan, we are delighted with the new Salthouse History Exhibition Centre within the newly restored Tower. The Village holds a wealth of documents, images and maps about the history of Salthouse, and now, because of the new History Centre, these have now been brought together by the Salthouse Village History Group, who are involved in managing the interchangeable displays and holding history meetings. The new History Centre has generated a lot of interest from the community and from the numerous visitors to the Church. One such visitor commented that they were going to take the idea back to their own Church!
Andrew Wigley, Church Warden & Tower Project Co-ordinator, explains:
“After what was supposed to have been a 30 week project, the scaffolding was finally removed from the newly restored Tower at the end of October. Unfortunately from day one of the contract there were scaffolding installation delays and serious long term health problems affecting the contractor. The PCC is very grateful to the Heritage Fund for their understanding and patience.
“On behalf of the PCC, I would also like to give my personal thanks to David Lemon, (Spire Property Consultants Ltd), the Church’s Surveyor, for his guidance and professionalism throughout the project. My gratitude to him for his expertise, drive, dedication and support.”
Photos courtesy of St Nicholas Church.
