Repairs to storm-damaged Somerset church complete

13 October 2023

News image — The church has been described as an "historic gem"

Nigel Blower The interior of an historic church looking towards the nave — The church has been described as an "historic gem"

Urgent repairs to a Grade 1 listed church's nave roof badly damaged during a storm have been completed.

Heavy wind and rain on Christmas Eve in 2022 allowed water to harm the roof of St Peter's church in Hornblotton, near Shepton Mallet in Somerset.

Historic England agreed to fund the repairs, but extensive repair work is still needed on other areas.

Nigel Blower, churchwarden said the church as a "historic gem" that is "loved by local people and visitors".

He said: "It has reached the point where extensive repairs are now needed.

"We'll be working hard over the coming years to conserve this beautiful building."

The damage caused by the storm bought forward repair works already in the pipeline, with Historic England stepping in to give an emergency grant of £52,850.

The church, which is on Historic England's Heritage At Risk Register, has started fundraising for the rest of the repair works.

Rebecca Barrett, South West regional director at Historic England, said: "The circumstances at St Peter's were exceptional, and we were pleased to be able to step in and help secure the nave roof."

Mark Taylor The exterior of an historic church showing people in the graveyard — St Peter's was built between 1872 and 1874 by Sir T G Jackson to replace an earlier church on the same site.

She added that she hoped the next phase of repair works goes smoothly.

Mark Taylor, St Peter's conservation architect, said: "Our original programme of work for St Peter's began with the repair of the chancel roof and east window in 2021 with support from Historic England's Covid-19 Emergency Fund.

"But the storm damage to the nave roof in December 2022 meant we had to rethink that programme and act quickly to protect the church and its remarkable interior."

Sally Strachey Historic Conservation A women holding up a sticker to a crack in plasterwork — St Peter's has an Arts and Crafts interior with sgraffito plasterwork, the earliest example of the technique used in such an ambitious way.

The vestry and porch roofs still need to be improved, and recent investigations of the bells, the sgraffito wall plaster and the window glass show that they also require conservation and repair.

The sgraffito covers every surface of the interior of St Peter's with floral and botanical designs, as well as images from the scriptures.

It is the earliest example of the technique used in such an ambitious way.