The Church of St. James had been closed due to concerns about cracking and possible subsidence raised by previous professional advisors. Lead theft had compounded the building’s problems; the local community was determined that the church should re-open.
Peter Rogan worked with the Structural Engineer Stuart Armitage of The Morton Partnership to explore the past history of the building and to identify the possible reasons for movement. Previous engineers had recommended underpinning, but we uncovered that the drainage system had been ineffective for decades before being renewed in the 1990s. With the subsoil under the foundations clay, movement had been caused by the ground drying out and the clay shrinking. We were able to propose a more conservative scheme of repairs.
The parish was the winner of the English Heritage/Andrew Lloyd Webber Heritage Angels Award in the same year in the ‘Best Rescue of a Place of Worship’ category.
