Information about repairs to St Thomas' Church Tower
Updated 25th March 2023
25th March 2023
We're nearly there! The steel and concrete lintel (the same length as an average height person!) are in place and the roof is back on the stair turret. The new windows are also installed. The scaffolding will gradually come down this week to allow access to a small amount of work to some roof tiles further down.
Good news! Work began on Tuesday 24th January! Check back here over the coming weeks for progress updates.
You can find photo updates here
Please note that the clock will continue to work through much of the work, but the quarter-chimes have been turned off for the sake of the contractors who are working at the same level as the bells! Bell ringing is suspended during the duration of the works. Instead, the St Thomas' ringers will be having a shared practice night at All Saints Wigston Magna on Tuesdays from 7.30pm.
We've been really fortunate to receive some very generous grant funding pledges along with the generosity of local people - thank you so much!
You can still donate to the fund - anything extra will mean that we can allocate the funds from our reserves to other important projects. Please give generously here!
We also gratefully acknowledge the grant funding support of:
Leicestershire Historic Churches Trust
National Churches Trust
Wolfson Foundation
Benefact Trust
Garfield Weston Foundation
Jack Patston Charitable Trust
You can read more about it here: December Funding Update news
Further to recent comments on social media, please note that St Thomas' South Wigston is financially independent from St Wistan's and any fundraising activity for the St Thomas' project is not diverting funds away from St Wistan's.
Problem
- Unfortunately the Quinquennial Inspection of the building, undertaken by an experienced church architect every five years, has identified that there is structural movement to the staircase that leads up to the bell tower.
- To be clear, the tower itself is sturdy and not a cause for alarm!
- The problem area is the turret bit that you can see on the west (petrol station) side, particularly at the top.
- Basically, the staircase was never properly fixed to the tower itself and is gradually moving away.
- The latest Quinquennial Inspection has identified that now is the time for us to act on the matter.
 
Solution
- Advice has been sought from a highly respected structural engineer and the necessary diocesan permission has been gained for the structural work that needs to be done.
- This will involve the insertion of steel bars and rods at the top of the tower staircase to provide ef
 fective pinning to the tower.
- Frustratingly, all of this work will be internal so it means that all the hard work will be unseen, but it will at least secure the staircase for future generations.
Cost
- Approximately £60k. However, that includes VAT which can be reclaimed when the work is done through a particular grant available to churches.
What we’re already doing
- We’re working hard on sourcing grant funding - which will have to form the bulk of any fundraising.
- We’ve already submitted a funding application in late February and several others are in the pipeline.
- Plans of work are in place and the necessary permissions have been sought for the work.
- We’ve raised about £7k so far through fundraising events and re-allocating some reserves and part of a legacy that we received.
What can you do?
You can make a one-off donation or set up a monthly gift at this link.
- However, we also need to do some fundraising towards the overall cost. We also need to be able to demonstrate to grant funders that we’re being proactive too.
- If you’re able and willing to be involved with aspects of that, we’d be hugely grateful!
- By that we mean not just providing the personnel but also being willing to organise events – otherwise it will fall down to just a few people.
- Contact kate.martin@sky.com or revchrisjohnson.wbs@gmail.com if you’d be able to help. We’d love to hear from you!
Some positive news and a heads up for the future
- The good news is that this work to the tower is the main flag from the QI – which, believe it or not, is a relief!
- It's also testament to the care that has been taken of our church down the years by many people as a service to the community and to God.
- We’ve got to prioritise the structural work now but looking ahead:
- There are works to be done to the clock which is 100 years old now and the bell frame which is 120 years old.
But we’ll cross those bridges when we come to them – particularly as those would be a more visible and audible reminder of the work that will happen to the tower.
- Please remember the work that we need to do in your prayers, particularly the fundraising aspect and especially for generosity of heart amongst the grant-funding bodies!
We’ll keep updating this page when there’s more news
www.wigstonbenefice.org.uk/thomastower
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