ENGLISH HERITAGE OCTOBER 2007

From: Alan Taylor, Inspector of Historic Buildings, English Heritage

To: Katie Lowe, Church Commissioners, Church House, Great Smith Street, London, SW1P 3AZ

Date: 8 October 2007

Dear Ms Lowe,

PASTORAL MEASURE 1983. DIOCESE OF WORCESTER. CHURCH OF ST JOHN, KATES HILL, DUDLEY

Futher to our letter of 16 May objecting to the proposed Declaration of Redundancy for the Church of St John, Kates Hill the building has been inspected by an English Heritage architect specialised and experienced in assessing applications for grant aid and funding to historic places of worship. Although his visit was not informed by a detailed survey of the church he was able to identify a summary of works necessary to the external fabric and to produce a budget cost for repairs. These figures do not include VAT (which might of course be reclaimable if the building were to remain a place of worship), professional or other fees. They also exclude any works to the interior of the building (heating, electrics, fixtures and decorations) which would of course be contingent upon the manner in which the building might be used in the future. In summary these show that the external fabric of the church could be repaired at a cost of £126,000 (plus fees etc).

It is worth noting that our architect's inspection confirmed the findings of English Heritage's structural engineer made in May 2005 that although neglected and in need of attention the building was not in a serious state of disrepair. In particular our architect was able to inspect the roof at gallery level (which had not been accessible to our engineer) and to establish that potential areas of "rot" at wall plate level were in fact the unpainted shadows of corbels removed when the wall plate itself was renewed in previous repairs. In his view the roof was structurally stable and the risk of collapse stated in other reports had been overstated. No evidence of leakage or water penetration was noted in the body of the church and the absence of a damp, musty atmosphere commonplace in closed or disused buildings was noted. Our engineer drew attention to the risk of water penetration affecting the bearing ends of principal roof timbers. It has not been possible to examine these (and it should be done as a matter of some urgency and prudence). If not already damaged simple measures should be implemented to protect them from risk of water ingress.

Given the age and construction of the church, previous poorly advised repairs (e.g. the use of interlocking concrete roof tiles which risk overstressing a roof structure designed for lighter weight materials) and its lack of maintenance in recent years neither the extent of repairs needed nor the quoted order of costs seems unreasonable. In the circumstances English Heritage reiterates its view that the church building is not unsound, is readily capable of straightforward repair at reasonable cost, and could be brought back into use as a place of Anglican worship, either in whole or in association with other community uses. In the latter respect we are encouraged to learn of the emergence of a St John's Church Preservation Group drawn in part from both the church and the wider local community who are willing to work towards bringing the church back into regular worship and community use. This suggests to us that the redundancy porcess should be deferred for the moment to allow time for the Diocese and the Preservation Group to explore thoroughly the opportunities for keeping this building as a focus for worship and mission in its area.

I attach for your information copies of our architects' budget costs and of the structural engineer's report of May 2005.

Yours sincerely,

 

Alan Taylor

Inspector of Historic Buildings

cc. Archdeacon of Dudley, Robert Higham, Diocesan Secretary, Peter Boland, Dudley MBC

ATTACHED

Church of St John, Kates Hill

BUDGET COSTS FOR REPAIRS

REPAIRS TO EXTERNAL FABRIC                                                                                        

Renew tower roof incl lightning conductor  

Estimate £26,000

Repair tower louvres

Estimate £4000

2 no. west staircase pentice roofs renewal

Estimate £15000

Nave/chancel roof repairs in isolated locations inc south aisle trusses inc. flashings

Estimate £15000

Replace plastic rainwater goods with cast iron

Estimate £5000

Ashlar repairs to tower

Estimate £10000

Nave ashlar dressing repairs inc. hood moulds, corbel heads, plinths

Estimate £15000

Re-lead nave windows and repair/renew metal guards

Estimate £25000

Repair/renew tower floors

Estimate £5000

Render organ chamber blocked windows

Estimate £1000

Drainage repairs in isolated areas

Estimate £5000

The figures do not include the following:-

VAT, Statutory fees, Professional Fees, Heating and electrical services, Internal fittings and fixtures, Internal decorations