Building Name

Restoration of Tower. St Mary's Parish Church Prestwich

Date
1884
Street
Church Lane
District/Town
Prestwich
County/Country
GMCA, England
Work
New Build

THE RESTORED PARISH CHURCH OF PRESTWICH. The restoration of the ancient parish church of Prestwich, now rapidly approaching completion, has been carried out in as thorough a manner as was for the time being practicable, and when the final touches shall have been bestowed on the work the edifice will be in condition to withstand the ravages of time and the elements for very many years to come. The desirability of substantial repair had been for several years apparent, but it was less than four years ago that the condition of a portion of the fabric was found to so dangerous that the work of restoration could no longer be deferred. That it was not undertaken a moment too soon abundant evidences have transpired while the work has been progress. In the summer of 1880 the bell ringers were frightened from the belfry by the appearance of gaping vertical cracks the staircase turret, cracks through which week by week more and yet more daylight could be seen. Other dangerous looking fissures were also discovered the outer walls of the tower, particularly on its southern face; and on Messrs. Medland and Henry Taylor, architects, of Manchester, being called in to make, first cursory and subsequently a minute and thorough inspection of the entire building, they discovered the cause of the injury to the tower, and that if that structure was to be saved from complete destruction, the task of repairing it must be taken in hand without delay. The origin of the cracks in the tower, which had caused be much alarm, was somewhat peculiar. The churchwardens of a former time, desiring to make the church more comfortable for the worshippers, caused to be constructed cellar, in which was placed apparatus for warming the building, and the excavations for this cellar were made so near to the south face of the tower as to undermine its foundations and render its condition exceedingly insecure. Messrs. Taylor proceeded to shore the tower, and, after excavating round its base to a considerable depth, to place under the foundation walls a thick broad mass of cement concrete, be giving the tower an absolutely firm and reliable basement. This was a task attended with very considerable difficulty and not a little danger, as a comparatively slight error judgment or the want of little skill and care at a critical moment might have reduced the tower which has for so many years been one of the most prominent landmarks of the district to a mere heap of stones and rubbish. The work has, however, been successfully accomplished, and the tower is now as secure as probably it has ever been, and certainly more safe than it has been during the lifetime of many generations of the parishioners. In addition to the construction of the solid concrete foundation, the defective masonry of the footings has been carefully under-pinned, and from top to bottom of the tower the fractured and defective stones have been taken out and replaced by good, sound, long bonding stones, well wedged and cemented into their places. The old tiled and gabled roof of the tower has made way for flat roof of lead, and the ancient vane, in respect to which one of the coping stones of the tower parapet bears the inscription, "This weather cook erected. 1771," has been replaced by a new one. new stone staircase from the belfry to the top of the tower has also been constructed. The heating apparatus, which had contributed so largely to the mischief, has been taken away and the excavation filled in, and new heating apparatus has been placed in a chamber somewhat farther removed from the foundations of the church. Inside the building a rather unsightly west gallery, which carried the organ, has been demolished, with the result of bringing into view the handsome tower arch, and a very chaste three-light traceried window in the west face of the tower which were previously almost entirely hidden. The interior lining of the church, with the exception of the side aisles, was originally of hewn stone of remarkably beautiful colour and texture, but this had many years ago—how many one knows —been covered with plaster, and the effect of the previously charming interior thereby wholly destroyed. The building committee have during the present restoration had the inner tower walls cleaned and pointed, and in order to demonstrate what the church as originally constructed was really like the western bay and the nave, with its pillars, has been stripped of the plaster, so as to show the beauty of the stone. The contrast between the restored portion and the remainder of the nave bays so strikingly to the disadvantage of the latter that it is to be hoped the restoration will be, at least in this particular direction, speedily extended. The western ends of the north and south galleries have been shortened, so as to allow the windows at the ends of the aisles, which have heretofore been sadly cut into and their effect mutilated by the galleries being built up against them, to be properly seen. When the side galleries were added to the church, the work seems to have been carried out with a miserly hand, the aisle walls being raised regardless of all architectural eff oct, and lined inside with common red brick. The windows had lintels of wood, and plaster (a material which has formed a cloak for countless sins in building operations) was used to mask" the undignified and inappropriate materials employed in the extension. To replace all this work is, for the present, impracticable, but much has been done, by the substitution of stone lintels and the repairing of the walls, to diminish its unsightliness. The gallery stairs at the north-west corner of the church have also been removed, the Earl of Wilton allowing the use of his staircase for the whole of the seats in the north gallery. The outer walls of the nave have been carefully repaired and pointed. The tiled roofs of the nave and isles were in a ruinous condition and have been thoroughly restored, the aisle roofs having been reconstructed. The carved wooden ceilings were also grievously decayed, and many of the rafters so completely rotted that great precautions had to be taken to prevent their giving way under, the weight of the men engaged removing the unsound timber, and props had to be used to support them during the work. Great masses of worm-eaten and rotted oak have long been exposed, as silent witnesses to the necessity for the restoration which has now been carried out. The nave ceiling is in square panels of oak, the beauty of the wood, however, having been hidden by painted devices. The decayed portions have been removed and replaced with sound timber, and the whole ceiling made secure. The ceiled roof the north aisle was not only decrepit but covered with plaster, and its appearance mean to the last degree. In the ceiling of too south aisles the main lines of the original design, a very tasteful and effective ouo, were preserved, and this design has served as pattern for the new oak inner roofs of both aisles. With the exception of some minor matters this completes the restoration, so far as it has now been carried out. A faculty has been obtained and designs prepared for the erection of organ chamber and an enlarged vestry on the north side of the easternmost portion of the chancel, but owing to the serious illness of the rector (the Rev. Canon Birch) this projected work cannot for the present undertaken. The restoration has been carried out by Messrs. Chadwick and Co., of under the direction of Messrs. Taylor, the architects. The exact date when the first church was built at Prestwich has always been a matter of uncertainty. The oldest portions of the present structure are said to have been erected about 400 years ago, but the process of restoration frequent traces of a much older building, consisting of carved stone work in excellent state of preservation, were discovered. Before the work of strengthening the tower was commenced, the peal of bells, for which the church has long been famous, were removed, but have now been re-hung in new framework. These bells have history which is not without interest. Prior the year 1721 there were, as the records of the church show, four bells in the tower, but at vestry meeting hold in August of that year it was decided to increase the peal to six, and an assessment was made on the parishioners to pay the cost. The work was entrusted to ono Abraham Ruddall, of Gloucester, who melted down the four old bells, and with the product cast five bells, and provided a sixth "of his own metal," for a sum of £125 Is. sd. Of the bells hung only three remain, the other three having been recast the years 1742, 1761, and 1788 respectively. Each bell was its recasting inscribed with a motto explanatory sonance. 'JSm tickle kail has the-inscription, " mo ring, 11l sweetly sing," and the date, 1742. The second bell (which, having been cracked, has just been recast by Messrs. J. Taylor and Co., Loughborough) was inscribed, "Prosperity to the Church of England* A.R., 1721; the third bears the motto, "Peace and good neighbourhood," and the date, 1721: the fourth has on it the words Abrm. Ruddall, of Gloster, cast us all," and the date 1742: the fifth has a Latin inscription, Gloria Deo in excelsis el terra pax,'' but no date; and the sixth, which also has no date, bears the names of six churchwardens of the period. In the recent re-casting of the second boll the inscription was unfortunately omitted; but it is intended to" preserve the motto in a brass plate to be let into the frame on which the bell hangs. The bells were rung for the first time since the re-hanging on Palm Sunday, when special services were held to mark the event.

Reference    British Architect 18 April 1884 Page 196
Reference    Manchester Courier 16 April 1884 page 8