Sutton Church Wall
Written by: Greensand Country Team
This project aimed to reverse the decline of a 50m long sandstone wall on the south side of the churchyard. The wall was identified in our 2015 audit and was exhibiting widespread failure due to the previous repairs of heavily-applied cement pointing.
Achievements
The project reversed the failing wall, by removing ivy, and repointing with the correct lime mortar. The ‘before’ demonstrated serious concern, with the cement portioning cracking and failing.
The project has meant that a key sandstone wall has been repaired using the correct heritage building skills.
Benefits to People
The benefit to the community has been largely about improving the condition of heritage in their local area, reinforcing their sense of place within the Greensand Country landscape and its unique sandstone heritage.
Benefits to Heritage & Landscape
This project has had two benefits for local heritage. The first is that a key sandstone wall has been repaired, reinforcing the importance of sandstone as a historic building material within the Greensand Country area. Secondly, it has proved an exemplar in heritage building skills and the correct use of lime mortar, thus informing public understanding of how sandstone structures should be restored.
As this has been a physical works project to a heritage asset there has been no direct impact on the wider landscape, however, indirectly, it has contributed to strengthening the Greensand Country-specific heritage of the village.
Challenges & Lesssons Learnt
The main challenge was ensuring that all the contractor work was completed before any frost.
The project went smoothly, with no concerns from contractors, so a similar project could run in very much the same way.