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St Denis’ Church restoration The Grade II* St Denis’ Church in East Hatley is now a ‘safe shell’ and the churchyard is once again fully accessible. The roof has been re-tiled and timbers and stonework repaired thanks to a restoration carried out with immaculate care by Haymills Conservation during the autumn of 2005. |
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South Cambridgeshire District Council, owners of the church since 1985, appointed Bowman and Sons to remove the ivy (below) in order to survey the building. This work was completed during the early part of 2003.
The church was placed on the national register of Buildings at Risk for Grade I and II* buildings, maintained by English Heritage, in June 2004.
The Cabinet authorised the work to be funded by grant support from English Heritage (£61,000), Hatley Parish Council (who offered a contribution of £2,000 conditional on the roof being tiled rather than covered in iron sheets) and SCDC’s Historic Buildings Conservation Fund.
Credit for the restoration of St Denis must go to Nick Grimshaw, SCDC’s Conservation Manager, who championed our cause most admirably, and, of course to the Cabinet members of SCDC for reaching what must have been a difficult decision in the current financial climate for the Council. Background to the church The Church of St Denis, East Hatley is a Grade II* listed building dating from 1217 with the majority of the surviving fabric dating from the 13th century. It was substantially ‘restored’ by the notable nineteenth century architect, William Butterfield. The church was last used for worship in 1959 and, in order to prevent its demolition by the Diocese, ownership was conveyed by the Church Commissioners to South Cambridgeshire District Council in 1985 ‘for use as a nature reserve and for the study of natural history’. It is designated a Local Nature Reserve. The churchyard is a County Wildlife Site and remains open for burials. Further information
Listed buildings Buildings are graded to show their relative architectural or historic interest:
Listing currently protects 500,000 or so buildings, of which the majority – over 90% – are Grade II. Grade I and II* buildings may be eligible for English Heritage grants for urgent major repairs. |
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By late 2002, high winds and overgrowth of ivy (right) had caused significant damage to the roof and walls, such that some parts of the structure were deemed unsafe.
Severe damage was found to part of the external walls with the gable ends unstable and in danger of collapse. The roof tiles were insecure, while the removal of the ivy had affected the integrity of both the roof and the walls, leaving many of the tiles loose and much of the flint stone facing in a decayed condition. 
At a meeting on 9 June 2005, the SCDC Cabinet accepted the recommendation of the Conservation Advisory Group that a tender for £151,000 for the church to be made safe with a clay tile roof be accepted, rather than an alternative tender for £110,000 for it to be repaired with a corrugated iron roof.
Haymills was appointed in July 2005 to repair the damaged stonework, undertake repairs to the roof timbers and re-tile the roof. Work began on 1 August 2005 – soon the church was surrounded by scaffolding and the tiles removed (above). By October 2005, the stonework was substantially complete and timber repairs were undertaken. The photo, left, shows progress at early December 2005, with re-tiling of the roof taking place. Haymills finished their work in January 2006. 
Now the restoration is complete, right, the next step will be to secure further grant support to enable the building to be utilised for an appropriate community purpose – a scheme is expected to be developed in consultation with the Parish during 2007.