St. George’s Restoration Project
Although a church has stood on the site for some nine hundred years, there have been recurrent problems with the structure caused by its lack of sound foundations. The church was built on gravel and unstable ground and today it is cracking apart as it slowly sinks. If drastic remedial action is not undertaken soon, then the whole building will become unsafe.
On 6th June 2000, the Architect came to inspect the building and expressed concern at the continuing movement. Our insurers have now said that we should not use the Nave of the church, until they have received a new report from the Structural Engineer. We have had to cancel some events, and are currently holding services in the Side Aislr
During the past three years, detailed investigations have been undertaken, with the support of English Heritage. A plan has been drawn up, based on the information gathered, to try and deal with this problem once and for all by underpinning the building. This will involve the creation of a concrete table to support the whole structure. The "legs" of the table will be in the form of piles driven down into the firmer London Clay beneath.
This will be a major undertaking, but it also presents us with a major opportunity. The building is recognised as being of architectural and strategic importance. All around us, in North Southwark, major regeneration has been under way during the present decade and is set to continue. A restored St George’s will be able to take its proper place as a key part of Southwark’s heritage, helping to draw visitors beyond the riverbank. The building has an excellent acoustic for music and we would hope to develop the use we already make of it as a performance venue.
The preferred method of underpinning will leave us with a greatly enlarged Crypt space underneath the church. This offers great potential for broadening the use of the building – as a base for local community projects, and perhaps as a restaurant or other meeting place.
LATEST INFORMATION: The Heritage Lottery Board have given 'approval in principle' to meeting two-thirds of the costs. However, we still need to raise £1,000,000.
This is a huge project for a small inner city congregation to undertake. However, we believe the future of St George’s to be of interest to many more people than just those who attend on a Sunday. We are actively seeking partners in the work of restoration.
CRACKING
The subsidence has been having a detrimental effect on the walls, and we are concerned that the cracks have been getting worse. The following photographs show the state of the walls in various parts of the building - some of which are now becoming alarming!
The East End rear stairs
The Ceiling
North West Stairs
Tower
RESTORATION UPDATE
After ten years of planning, the Restoration of St George’s Church is now under way. The main works in hand are to under-pin the whole building, to prevent further subsidence, to put on a new roof, and to carry out various conservation works inside and out. In addition to this, a new and greatly enlarged Crypt space will be formed underneath the church, and will be available for parish and community activities.
The principle funding is coming from the Heritage Lottery Fund. we have also have help from the Corporation of the City of London, and a number of other grant-making trusts. Our own share of the costs is coming from the sale of the Church Halls site in Lant Street, and also some local fund-raising.
The contract for work runs for 55 weeks, and completion is expected in October 2006.
We hope to produce an occasional bulletin to let people know how the work is progressing.
ST. GEORGE the MARTYR
Restoration Project update November 2005
We are now two months into the project and good progress is being made. As most people will have seen, the outside has been fully scaffolded and the site set-up put in place. Previous to this, all items had been removed from the church, either to safe storage or to other premises where they continue in use. A few very bulky items are being stored on site.
All the pews have been removed to storage, whilst other woodwork and the organ have been given protective cover. When the floor under the pews was lifted, this was found to be sitting on original timbers, many of which had come from old ships of 1680-1720. These have been recorded and stored and will go back again, except where there is serious deterioration.
The paving slabs have been mapped and lifted. Archaeologists have been in attendance throughout the process of stripping out the building. Work has now begun on removing the layers under the church floor. Where charnel and other human remains are found, they are being removed by a company who specialise in this work. All remains disturbed by the building works will be re-interred at Nunhead Cemetery.
The next main stage will be to put in the steel girders which will support the whole structure whilst the floor is removed. Once these are in place, the main archaeological investigation, under the floor of the Crypt, will begin.
Although out main funding is in place, we are continuing to raise funds toward the fitting out of the restored church and crypt. Donations cane be sent to –
St George’s Restoration Fund, St George’s Rectory, Manciple Street, London SE1 4LW
Tony Lucas, Rector
This project is supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Contractors – Kingswood Construction Architects – Thomas Ford & Partners
Engineers – Hockley & Dawson Project Management - Prism
For more information, or to make a donation, contact:
St George’s Rectory, Manciple Street, London SE1 4LW
Tel/fax: 020 7407 2796
E-mail: St George's Rectory
