St Edmund & St George Church Home Page
Reopening of the church following the temporary closure
Church Restoration
We are nearing completion of the internal and external repairs to the church thanks to the contractor S&W and our Church Architect from Clews Architects. Loose plaster has been removed from above the chancel arch and this area replastered and painted. Extra drain pipes have been installed to cater for the increased rainfall. Our trusty group of volunteers will be making the building useable again – the next scheduled service is on Christmas Day.
Other areas of wall in the north and south aisle will need to be replastered and painted next year. The wall at the eastern area of the north aisle needs to dry out while the eastern corner of the south aisle will be monitored for movement. Restoration of the stained ceiling in the north aisle, works to the west window and surrounding exterior stonework in the nave and redecoration will be considered after the Quinquennial Inspection which is now overdue.
The following have been completed, thanks to OG Stonemasonry:
- Two coping stones replaced over the east end of the north aisle
- Damaged roof tiles replaced over the north aisle and chancel
- Other works to prevent water ingress into the east end of the north aisle
If you wish to contribute specifically to these “Church Restoration” repairs, please use the link (reference “Restoration”) or the QR Code below.
Restoring St Edmund & St George Church in Hethe
Other works are currently on hold . The heating and some of the lights have now been fixed following failures at the end of January 2023. Our thanks to Ben Wood for arranging a quick fix for both.
Repairs to the west window and surrounding exterior stonework will follow when funding is available.
The last quote for the stonework was £12,500. We have received a very generous offer to pay for the refurbishment of the stained glass. If you wish to contribute specifically to these repairs, please use the link (Reference West Window) or QR Code below.
The church is in need of redecoration. We received a quote for £13,389 including the re-plastering, which we cannot currently afford.
2022 saw the completion of repairs to the porch, including masonry, re-pointing, rainwater goods, roof and timber repairs.
We are very pleased with the results of the porch repairs and refurbishment of the Chancel door. The Victorian porch is now strengthened, watertight and everyone can enter the church without fear of falling stone and the life of the porch has been significantly extended. Safe access into the church will enable more of the wider uses and improvements planned for the building.
Many thanks to the stonemason, John Lister from Owlsworth IJP, and our church architect, Zoe Sawbridge from Acanthus Clews Architects. If anyone would like their contact details, please let me know – hethepccsecretary@outlook.com.
Thank you to everyone who donated to the fund-raising campaign and to the National Churches Trust for the grant.
Major works completed in 2017
The repair and replacement of rainwater goods, repair of the rafter ends, roof repair and stonework repairs to the eaves and coping stone to the roof. We are grateful for grants received from the Listed Places of Worship Roof Repair Fund, the Oxfordshire Historic Churches Trust and the Allchurches Trust.
