It's the end of Week 6 and Shelley's secrets have been hidden away again for, we hope, a good long time to come.Some of the underlying rafters had sagged over the years, and oak infills have been added to straighten the line. The sarking felt is in place and the tile battens nearly finished.3 pallets of new tiles have arrived. These are very slightly different in size from the old ones that have been rescued for reuse. They just don't make that size anymore! But you won't see the join - it will be hidden behind the tower.Just hope they rescue that saw before the tilers get to work...
How did the carpenters that originally built Shelley's roof know which bit went where? Answer - they numbered the joints. Using roman numerals, because they are made from straight lines that you can chisel easily, as this photo shows.All Saints continues to give up its secrets as the new roof takes shape. The work is going well, with not too many surprises. Except, that is, for discovering one corner of the tower was being held up by little more than roof joists, and had dropped several inches over the years. (It's been properly reinforced now).Our thanks go to all who have contributed to the appeal and fundraising events for this project, and to The National Churches Trust, Suffolk Historic Churches Trust, Garfield Weston Foundation, Ganzoni Charitable Trust and Alfred Williams Charitable Trust.A mystery remains, however. Why aren't the rafters in numerical order?
Some rather different language is reverberating around All Saints these days. As well as the usual graces and benedictions we have new words which passeth all understanding - quoins, sprockets, bargeboards, firrings, noggings, stringcourses, sarking.Work on the roof is well under way and Shelley is revealing her hidden secrets - these are some of the rafters and sprockets exposed at the NW juntion of the nave and tower.No nasty surprises - yet!About 60% of the existing tiles can be salvaged for re-use, which is better than expected. Thanks to the contractors' thoughtful efforts the dustsheets are being temporarily removed for the regular Sunday services. Only Dame Margaret, the font and the organ remain under cover, while the church's more regular language returns for the day.
Tiles from the north slope of All Saints' nave roof are stacked neatly on scaffolding, waiting to be reused if possible.They have been in place since the 1970s. At that time mortar was used as a fixing, but this has since deteriorated and the whole roof face now has to be renewed. The old tiles are being carefully cleaned up by contractors Lodge and Sons so that as many as possible can be reused.The work is scheduled to take to the end of October, with services continuing but scaled back as much as possible. The interior is protected throughout with dustsheets.The project is being generously funded by The National Churches Trust, Suffolk Historic Churches Trust, Garfield Weston Foundation, Ganzoni Charitable Trust and Alfred Williams Charitable Trust. Over 50% of the total costs are being met by our own fundraising efforts, including a Gardeners' Question Time event, drinks party and appeal.
