Skin Deep

During the repair works, we have discovered that the church tower was copmprehensively repaired relatively recently.  The huge and decorative buttresses are actually mainly Victorian, and we suspect the work was carried out during the repairs to the rest of the building in the late 19th century. 

The buttresses are faced in flushwork, with stone bands between the panels.  From the ground, the detail is difficult to see, but the arrises of the stone quoins are sharp – not worn as you would expect if they were as old as the rest of the building.  Once the loose flints were taken out, it is easy to see the sharp arrises, smooth finish and brick rubble core common to Victorian work. 

Each flint is numbered as it is taken out, then put back with inserted steel ties, just visible in the photograph, to support the weight of the flints.

Work will finish in the Autumn, weather permitting.