Website Admin In CHURCH, DONCASTER, ST MARY'S, TOWER APPEAL

Tower restoration – what is happening?

CONSERVING OUR GRADE 1 LISTED CHURCH

Scaffolding the 124-foot tower on all four sides is now complete, allowing the important conservation work to begin. This is a once in a lifetime project planned to finish in June. I can imagine you have been wondering what is happening as you see the scaffold head skyward; here is a brief summary of the work involved.

Most of the work is focussed on the bell chamber (or belfry), particularly the limestone traceries, these being the ornate stonework frames around the upper parts of louvred openings, which you can clearly see from ground level on all four sides, high in the tower. Some of this magnesian limestone will be removed, cleaned, re-pinned and reset, but where the weather has caused significant erosion, creating displacement risks, new locally quarried limestone is being cut and dressed as a full replacement. There are other areas of stonework to the external tower walls, again where climatic conditions have caused localised erosion and cracking, which are to be removed and replaced with new ashlar, finely dressed surface stone, to match that already in place.

The level of activity of conservators in and around the bell chamber makes it necessary to silence the bells, for both the hourly chime and the four-hourly carillon. There is a myriad of wires, cables, pulleys and springs which are carefully anchored across the whole of the bell chamber, necessary for the bells to be struck from the carillon. This complicated assembly, which is over 100 years old, is to be made secure before the internal work starts. Additionally, being in the bell chamber when the bells ring out is painfully noisy, with sound levels far too high to afford the conservators the level of safety they need. For these reasons the bells must remain silent for the length of this project.

I hope this gives you an insight of this important and necessary work which is currently being undertaken.

Phil Beavers

Chair

Fabric Committee.

Website Admin In CHURCH, DONCASTER, ST MARY'S, TICKHILL, TOWER APPEAL

Conservation and repairs to the Church Tower

Conservation and repairs to the Church Tower

Pedestrian Diversion at St. Mary’s Church:

The current footpath diversion around New Road, avoiding the churchyard, will remain in place until the scaffolding is complete, hopefully by Monday, 18th January at the latest. As soon as it is safe to do so, a more direct pedestrian diversion through the churchyard will be put in place. This will be via the main North gate, round the East end and down the South side of the church. This diversion will be clearly marked and will remain in place until the work on the tower is complete.

The Church Bells:

Conservation work in and around the belfry, in the upper parts of the tower, is scheduled to start very soon. It will soon be necessary therefore to silence the bells until this work is complete. This is regrettable but necessary during this important part of the conservation project.

Website Admin In CHURCH, DIOCESE, DONCASTER, TICKHILL, TOWER APPEAL

The Tower Project – The work is about to start

I have been advised that contractors will be on site to commence the external restoration work on the tower imminently. As soon as the work begins, a two way pedestrian diversion will be put in place in the churchyard for public safety. To see a map which shows the diversion, please click here.

This diversion will remain in place until the work is complete, which is expected to be in the order of 6 months.

You will see from the map that almost all pedestrian access through the churchyard is being temporally diverted (shown in pink) via New Road, Church Lane and the Southern footpath of the church (shown in blue). Access to the War Memorial will continue to be available via the North gate.

Should the church be allowed to re-open for regular Sunday worship after the current lockdown period ends, further guidance will be posted on the church website and across social media with full details.

We are sorry to put members of the public to some inconvenience during this major restoration project, but our first and prime concern is that of public safety. If you require any further help or guidance, please do get in touch.

Kind regards and stay safe,

Phil Beavers

PCC Secretary

In AUTUMN EVENTS, CHURCH, EVENTS, ST MARY'S, TOWER APPEAL

RECITAL AND LATE SUMMER DESSERTS

Monday 9th September

Following the tremendous success of the “Recital and Summer Desserts” St. Mary’s will now be holding a “Recital and Late Summer Desserts” on Monday 9th September starting at 7pm in aid of the Tower Appeal.

This will be another fantastic opportunity to enjoy the acoustics under the tower. It will feature Hannah Webb on Saxophone, Marianne Hofman on Flute and Charlotte Cummings on Violin.

Tickets are £5 and can be purchased on the night or by contacting John Marsden on 744142

In CHURCH, TICKHILL, TOWER APPEAL

TICKHILL OPEN GARDENS

Sunday 14th July 2019

12pm and 5pm

Why not take an opportunity to see some of the fantastic gardens in Tickhill. For a combined admission of £4 (Children free) you can see seven amazing gardens.

Tickets are available in advance from the Castlegate card shop or on the day from inside St. Mary’s or at the gardens.

Refreshments will also be available at St. Mary’s Church

The gardens are

14 Westgate – Hilary Shields

An old fashioned Walled garden with Herbs

10 Westgate – Michelle and Jason Long

(Access from the side of No. 6 Church Lane)

Combines elements of a walled kitchen garden with contemporary outdoor living

10 Church Lane – Pat and Paul Stephenson

A Patio garden full of pots

8 Church Lane – Debbie and Paul Jackson

A newly-planted modern family garden

7 Church Lane – Sue and Joe green, Lorna, Richard, Alice and Samuel

A cottage garden with stone walls

21 St. Mary’s Gate – Eluned and Geoff Foulds

A cottage garden with vegetable patch

27 Sunderland Street – John Marsden

A garden for wildlife

In EVENTS, ST MARY'S, TICKHILL, TOWER APPEAL

RECITAL AND SUMMER DESSERTS

Monday 1st July at 7pm

St. Mary’s are holding a “Recital and Summer Desserts” evening on Monday 1st July starting at 7pm in aid of the Tower Appeal.

This will be a fantastic opportunity to enjoy the acoustic under the tower.

We will have Clarinet, Saxophone, Voice and Hand-Bells.

Tickets are £5 and can be purchased by contacting John Marsden on 744142

In CHURCH, ST MARY'S, TICKHILL, TOWER APPEAL

TOWER APPEAL UPDATE

We would just like to give you all an update on the fantastic progress on how the Tower Appeal is going.

Over the last few months by a combination of events including the soup lunches, music marathon, auction and personal donations the amount raised so far for the Tower Appeal is £113,933.

Total amount spent so far on the internal work and some immediate work needed on the outside is £22,594. There is still a huge amount of work to be undertaken on the outside and at present this is going through a formal tender process.

In CHURCH, ST MARY'S, TICKHILL, TOWER APPEAL

AUCTION SALE IN AID OF THE TOWER APPEAL

We are having an Auction Sale in aid of the Tower Appeal on Saturday 27th April in the Scout Headquarters at 11 am.

Viewing of items for sale will start at 9;30 am

If you have items to donate it would be wonderful if you could bring them to the Scout HQ on Friday 26th between 10 am and 12 noon.

Refreshments will be served on the day

For further details please contact John (744142) or Judy (743700)

In EVENTS, ST MARY'S, TOWER APPEAL

MUSIC MARATHON UPDATE

13th April 2019 10:00 am until 4:00 pm

Our amazing organist, John Marsden B.E.M. L.T.C.L. , will be playing the organ as a sponsored event between 10am and 4pm. Peter Robson, on the piano, will be contributing too during each two hour slot.

Please let John know in advance if you would like a particular piece to be played (and the time you expect to be in church). Hymns may be requested on the day. This event will benefit the Tower Fund

UPDATE

Many thanks for all support given towards this event. £1278 was raised towards the Tower Appeal.

In CHURCH, TOWER APPEAL

CONSERVATION WORK

The final section of the internal scaffold is now up, ready for the contractors to undertake the important conservation work at the west end of the church over the ensuing weeks. We are working closely with all parties, in the hope the scaffold will be down and the west end restored in time for Easter. No promises at this stage but we do remain optimistic.

Many thanks for all the contributions and for your patience during the time of upheaval.

In TOWER APPEAL

ST MARY’S CHURCH TICKHILL, TOWER APPEAL

For over 900 years the tower of St. Mary’s Parish Church has magnificently adorned our skyline. This wonderful medieval building, with all its history, is at the very centre of our community. It has reached out to previous generations and, with your help, will continue to do so for generations to come.

The age of the building and its remorseless exposure to the ever-changing British weather has brought with it an important conservation need. Some of the external high level louvred belfry windows and some internal stonework are now in urgent need of repair.

We really do need your help.

To do this work, will cost around £100,000. Please help us by making your donation towards our “Tower Appeal”so that the damaged stone- work may be replaced and the Tower made safe for everyone to enjoy. Your donation really does matter. Please select the one option below that suits you best. If you are a tax payer you can Gift-Aid your donation which will add a further 25% of your gift to our appeal at no additional cost to you.

Ways you can give:

Cheques made payable to “St Mary’s Church Tickhill”. Please write “Tower Appeal” on the back.
On-line or telephone banking payment to account 60-02-50 71583351 , quoting “Tower Appeal” as transaction reference. Please also send the Gift Aid form (if applicable) to the address below.
Cash

The Gift Aid form is on the reverse of the accompanying “Appeal Launch” leaflet.

Please give/send cheques or Cash (plus your Gift Aid form if applicable) to: John Marsden, Church Warden, 27 Sunderland Street, Tickhill, Doncaster DN11 9PT OR hand in at Church.

Any funds raised in excess of the appeal target will be used in the church Fabric Fund for general church maintenance/improvement.

TOWER APPEAL