The lead chancel roof at St Mary’s Church in Aylesbury has had a complete repair and relay and is now leak free and fit for purpose.
The major restoration project working with an architect and the Diocesan Advisory Committee to repair the roof and stonework of the grade I listed building, was many years in the making. The works themselves took just under six months to complete in 2022 but the planning started nearly eight years ago. The project used all local materials, including local sandstone for the stonework repairs, and 80% of the original lead from the chancel roof was reused after being smelted and resized.
With the chancel roof fixed, it meant that the older energy-intensive light fittings in the building could be replaced with new more efficient LED lighting. This has helped saved energy and money for the church and improved its environmental sustainability.
The cost of the chancel roof repair at £140k was supported by the Church Commissioners. The chancel is one of a number of church chancels throughout the country where the repair and maintenance falls under the responsibility of the Church Commissioners. A concurrent project, enabled by the roof work, was undertaken to repair stonework on the east face of the tower, supported by generous donations by the parish congregation.
The Revd Doug Zimmerman, Rector of St Mary’s shares more about the significance of the building:
“St Mary’s is the county church for Buckinghamshire, and it is well known by local people and visitors and plays an important role in ceremonial county services. So, keeping the church in good repair is important, not only for the safety and enjoyment of those who use the space, but also in its role in civic and county events.”
“It’s a great sense of achievement to have the building works complete, the chancel is the most visible roof on the church so it makes a real difference to the look of the building.”
St Mary’s is a Major Parish Church, in the centre of Aylesbury town and welcomes a number of visitors all year round, over 160,000 people set foot in the church in 2021. The building is well used by the local community with regular daytime and evening events, concerts, and church groups taking place each week. A local charity, Space Aylesbury, is also based at the church and runs a weekly drop-in centre on Tuesdays and Fridays.