18th century church restored to its former glory in Manchester

An 18th Century church in Manchester has recently undergone extensive repairs to its roof, which included reintroducing leadwork as originally designed.

The main roof had been problematical for a number of years. The roof, at 16 degrees, was too shallow and never intended for a slate finish. The parapet gutters and lead covered apse roof had bays of lead that were excessive in length with step joints averaging only 20mm. The church had been experiencing leaks for a number of years.

Although the grade 1 listed building was fitted with extensive leadwork on consecration, it was replaced during the 19th century with tiles and slate.

As a result of little repair work having been carried out since 1959, the roofing had fallen into disrepair in recent years. The Parish made a successful grant application to restore the church tower, which included replacing the slate covered pyramid roof with a new lead covered flat roof which gave better access to the flag pole. Code 8 rolled lead sheet was used to cover the roof and line the parapet gutter.

A new code 8 lead rainwater pipe was installed down to the nave roof and code 6 lead weathering installed on all of the cornices and string courses around the tower. Work on the tower was undertaken by Lambert Walker Conservation & Restoration Ltd, with Hill & Rawlinson Construction Ltd as the lead work sub-contractor, a member of the Lead Contractors Association.

A second grant from English Heritage in 2012 enabled the parapet gutters to be completely remodelled and re-lined in accordance with the recommendations of the Lead Sheet Association using new code 8 rolled lead sheet. New lead over-flow chutes were also introduced and the apse roof re-lined in code 8 lead. This work ran concurrent with the tower restoration and was completed in time for the 300th anniversary of the church in July 2012.

In summer 2013 sufficient funds had been raised to enable the whole of the nave roof to be rightly restored to a lead roof. Although sand cast lead had been considered, a final decision was taken to use code 7 rolled lead sheet for quality and consistency of thickness.

Work on the nave roof was undertaken by Hill & Rawlinson Construction Ltd of Stalybridge over a period of three months during perhaps the driest spell of weather for many a year. The Rolled Lead Sheet to British Standard 12588 used on the project was sourced from Calder Industrial Materials, and the works were commissioned by project architects, Buttress Fuller Alsop Williams.

The rector of the church is delighted with the work and believes that in addition to providing a long lasting water tight finish, the new lead covering has given the roof a wonderful character that must have existed when the church was first built.

Indeed, the reassurance of having British Standard rolled lead sheet fitted with excellent craftsmanship by a Lead Contractors Association member will guarantee a positive future for the roof of the church.

For more information on the leadwork on this and other projects visit www.leadsheet.co.uk