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June 2004 |
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Of the ten chest tombs at St Andrew’s, nine were erected in the 18th or 19th centuries whilst the remaining one appears to be Victorian. All the earlier tombs are listed grade II under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990.
Several of these memorials have partially subsided and/or have been subject to weathering of the stone such as to require major repair.
Being listed these
were eligible for financial contributions under the Devon County Council's
Blackdown Hills Buildings at Risk Grant Aids Scheme and grant aid towards
the cost of repair was also offered by the Council For The Care of Churches
and Uffculme Environmental Ltd. Having obtained a faculty from the diocese
of Exeter and Listed Building Consent, the contract for carrying out repairs
on two of the most severely damaged tombs was placed with Roderic Baillie-Grohman,
trading as R.B. Co. Stone., of Thorney, Nr. Langport, Somerset. (Tel: 01458 252701). The repairs were completed during May 2005.
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The lid or capping stone of Tomb 1 was in a very poor state, having broken into six pieces. Earlier attempts to effect a repair using steel connecting bars had failed.
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A substantial section of the stone wall on the south side of the tomb was missing. Furthermore a large flake had broken away from the north wall rendering it very fragile. |
The pieces of the
lid were carefully removed and since the tomb had subsided it was
necessary to excavate it before the walls could be taken apart.
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Excavation revealed that it had been constructed on a plinth which was also removed.
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and a new
concrete base was laid.
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Following
replacement of the plinth
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and the
re-erection of the walls, the cavity was filled with columns of bricks
to give support to the lid
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and the repairs
reinforced with stainless-steel dowels.
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This done, the lid was replaced and the parts resin bonded together.
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Following which layers of mortar were laid over the repair to give extra protection.
A section of ham stone was inserted into the south wall to enclose the cavity once more. |
A similar procedure was adopted with the
second tomb, (Tomb 7), although in this case since the lid was intact it was
necessary to erect scaffolding in order to remove it before disassembling
the structure. Excavation revealed an earlier repair.
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Again a new concrete
base was laid and the newly excavated plinth placed upon it. The tomb was
reconstructed with a brick infill, in this case no steel rods enforcement
being required since the lid was sound.
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The stone infill which had been
used in the earlier repair of the south wall was replaced with the addition
of suitable material.
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With the completion of this work the appearance of the churchyard has been enhanced.