ENGLISH HERITAGE MAY 2005

ENGLISH HERITAGE

CONSERVATION ENGINEERING TEAM

To: A. Taylor, CON (WM), 112 Colmore Row, Birmingham, B3 3AG

From: Charles Shapcott, Structural Engineer, Room 328/9, 23 Savile Row, LONDON, W1S 2ET

Date: 11th May 2005

TOPIC: St John the Evangelist, Kates Hill, Dudley, West Midlands

Further to our visit on 05/05/05, and having read the Quinquennial of 2002, I feel that the Church Architect is being over cautious but also realistic in taking into account the track record of the Parish in not fully implementing any of the works from previous reports.

Possibly his advice is also flavoured by the actions of 1990 when the south aisle plate was apparently renewed for its full length as the church has an awkward gutter arrangment that sits on a corbel table. The undersides of the gutters corrode and soak the area with no obvious warning. It was not stated by the parishioners present at our meeting how much of the south aisle plate was seen to be rotten or what caused the whole length to be replaced. It could have been an architect's limited inspection, and/or an over zealous contractor.

I do feel however that the arguments for decay may have been over-stated in that the alleged evidence of dry rot in the wall plate for two bays from the chancel arch has only been assessed (as in the case of our inspection) from ground level with binoculars. A more detailed exploration of the problem might best be done from a scaffold tower as, if rot exists and only affects the wall plate and not the intermediate down-swinger of the truss, it would be less likely to trigger potential collapse. That is not to say that it is not of concern and that nothing should be done but it wouldn't lead to a collapse of the whole roof, only the local area below the purlin. Further water ingress, of which there was little evidence at present, would be a precursor to eventual failure. 

Since the closure it was noted that the western-most RWP on the north face has given problems saturating the wall which will take a while to dry out. Elsewhere the gutters are starting to sprout foliage, indicating poor falls and a lack of maintenance.

There looks also to be the start of a failure of the soakers between the nave and west tower. This might affect the purlin ends and the back of the 'false truss' at this location. It would take quite a while for any collapse to occur here as usually the purlins run through the into the wall despite the 'truss' being there, mainly for visual effect.

There was at least one slipped tile on the south face of the nave roof, reportedly in the last month, but I feel that it might have been a weak point for much longer. There was a white blemish on the soffit of the boarding in that locality internally; possibly this has gone un-noticed since closure.

Being built in 1840 there is no way flat concrete tiles would have been the original covering, more like Welsh or Cumbrian Slate. There is therefore a structural concern in that the present roof loading is pushing the structure to its limit. Although there is no evidence of distress there is a reduced margin of safety. The present covering is about 30%-50%  heavier than the slate, adding to the potential structural problems, should supporting members weaken only slightly.

The windows are in need of attention, the sandstone framing suffering from weathering and the bursting of the ferramenta where it enters the stone. Little can be done about this other than repair or replacement of the worst effected frames. The option of stainless tipping of the present iron/steel bars has been discounted as I feel this would cost more than direct stainless for iron replacement.

It is obvious that the building needs attention, but structurally apart from the concerns expressed in respect of the roof I find little of concern. It hasn't suffered mining subsidence and whilst the rainwater disposal is suspect this hasn't given excessive problems yet.

The problems will only get worse if the building is not inspected on a regular basis. Drawing the PCC's attention to defects  that could be resolved relatively quickly with a 'term contract' builder in tow might be helpful.

A.C. Shapcott