Church Care and Maintenance Tina Andrew Church Heritage & Conservation Officer
Course Programme Introduction Overview of Church Development Local Building Materials Why Buildings Decay Coffee Break The Importance of Regular Maintenance Church Inspection Depart
Single Cell Medieval Church
Saxon\Celtic\Early Norman From: Pamela Cunnington, How Old is That Church?
Saxon Church
Early Norman Apsidal Church
Early Norman Apsidal Church
Norman Cruciform Church
Norman Aisled Church
12 th Century
13 th Century
Small Medieval Church
14 th Century
15 th Century
16 th century 17 th century
Churches of Gower, Radnorshire & Breconshire
Plans from: The Old Parish Churches of Mid Wales and The Old Parish Churches of Gwent, Glamorgan & Gower by Mike Salter
Medieval Church Construction Thick masonry walls Usually composed of an outer layer of dressed or rubble stone with an inner core of lime mortar and small rubble stones sometimes battered at the base Look at medieval ruins to get an idea of the construction Lime rendered and/or washed on the outside plastered on the inside (most with wall paintings)
Medieval Church Construction Windows Early Norman windows (12C) were small with rounded heads Early lancet windows (13C) were narrow with arched heads Later Gothic windows (decorated and perpendicular) were tall and wide with elaborate window tracery Roofs originally thatched, stone tiled or slated Towers A later addition (14/15C) in most cases Often extended in height at a later date Porches A later addition (C15/16C) in most cases
19 th Century Church Restoration Most churches were heavily restored during the 19 th Century, with some being almost completely rebuilt Many have new windows from this period occupying original medieval openings and are often still in good condition The restorations did not usually include towers Most towers were only repointed Many medieval nave and chancel roofs were replaced and date from the this time Almost as many new churches were built as medieval ones in the 19C Mostly in the gothic style (but not always authentically!)
Traditional solid 'breathing' wall Modern cavity wall
Geology of Wales
Geology of Radnorshire, Breconshire & Swansea Slate, Shale, Grit, Chert and Volcanic Rock (12) Shale, Siltstone, Sandstone and Impure Limestone (13) Old Red Sandstone (14) Millstone Grit (16) Marl & Sandstone (19) Coal Measures (17) Carboniferous Limestone(15)
Local Building Materials Builders traditionally used whatever was at hand Although Glamorgan predominantly a stone county Stone was used for larger more prestigious buildings (churches and great houses) Locally quarried with some imported for detailed work (eg. carved door & window surrounds) Roofs originally stone slate which were often later replaced with the thinner North Wales slate There was a tradition of timber building in the border region for domestic houses during the medieval period Brick started to be used form the Georgian period onwards eg. Late Georgian seaside terraces in Swansea Often a by product of industrial processes eg. coalmining From The Buildings of Wales: Glamorgan and Powys
Local Building Stone (1) The Old Red Sandstone formation underlies most of Breconshire, South Radnorshire & West Herefordshire This consists of: Sandstone (mainly red, but also some green & grey) Marls (a mixture of limestone & mudstone) Breccias (a mixture of fragmented angular rocks & minerals) Conglomerates (a mixture of rounded fragments of sedimentary rocks) The above all provided useable general building stone Stone for fine carving or detailed work was usually imported Southern Breconshire and West Glamorgan has Carboniferous Limestone, Millstone Grit (a coarse grained sandstone) & Coal Measures From The Buildings of Wales: Glamorgan and Powys
Brecon Cathedral & Close Locally quarried grey, purple & red sandstone Picture ref: breconbeacons.wordpress.com
Local Building Stone (2) Carboniferous Limestone is commonly found next to coal seams in South Wales & the Bristol area The Gower peninsula is largely carboniferous limestone (whitish-grey in colour) Buildings built from this were largely rendered or limewashed as the colour was not valued A pink variant was used for building stone in 19C Popular with Cardiff church builders in 1880s & 1890s Pennant Sandstone Pennant Sandstone (often used for stone roof slates and paving slabs) is also found next to coal measures Colour varies from brown, greenish-grey & silver-grey Weather resistant and hard to cut to a smooth finish Popular for terraced housing in the valleys From The Buildings of Wales: Glamorgan and Powys
www.castlewales.com Swansea Castle Coursed and roughly squared Pennant Sandstone blocks with dressed Sutton Stone (a freestone from St Brides Major, Vale of Glamorgan)
Any Questions? To download copies of this presentation go to: http://www.churchinwales.org.uk/heritage/ Contact: tinaandrew@churchinwales.org.uk