John Norris Remembers...
Repairs to St Mary's in 1963 Work on the repair of St Mary's Tower
started in the autumn early in 1963 after my wife heard a loud crash early in
the morning whilst she was hanging out the washing We wondered where this noise
could have come from, hoping it was not from our house ! I almost dismissed it,
but thought it better to look around for trouble.
After finding nothing amiss at home, I went to the churchyard and found a large flint lying on the grass against the porch. This was the culprit, having fallen from the side of the tower, hitting the porch tin roof on it's way to the ground.
We had just experienced a very sharp spell of cold weather with frost both day and night which no doubt had penetrated the walls, and loosened this flint. Over the years much of the clunch (chalk) had weathered away in this manner, so that the whole tower surface was insecure. This action was the likely cause of the spire falling down in the late eighteenth century, it also being built of clunch. Both these churches have their origins in the distant past, St Mary's built about 1260, and St Cyriac's in 1299 according to the list of incumbents.
What to do next? The PCC under the guidance of Rev Francis Hicks sought help from the Diocesan Advisory Committee. This resulted in Mr Bourne's partnership doing a survey, and recommending re-facing the tower and making good the ragged top As with many things, what seemed a minor repair turned into a major project costing £15000, which in to-days money is £200,000 , and would take a year to complete.
Plans were prepared, and a model made, so that the design of the finish to the top could be studied Several attempts were made, and finally the "Fleche"we see today was the preferred choice. mounted above a new arcaded final layer to the tower
Much thought was given to the cost, and how we could meet it. Rattee & Kett were the preferred contractors after their estimate of £15000 had been accepted., on the condition that only work that could be paid for was commissioned. The job of treasurer fell to me, and quite a worry it was. We were lucky in that funds had been slowly growing since the restoration in 1902, augmented by a gift from the Rev Fisher in the 1920s.
At this time, Brass Rubbing was very popular, especially with the Americans stationed at Mildenhall. It was so over subscribed, that we had a booking arrangement, both for a special day and time. The fees were set at £2 per person for three hours, and were enforced by my wife Marion. During 1964 nearly one thousand pounds was collected. The double yellow lines made parking difficult near the church, as they extended much further than to-day,. The casual brass rubber (one who had not booked) was easily detected as they had to walk past our kitchen window, their shadow gave them away ! This interest continued for some time until the Brass Rubbing Centre was opened in Cambridge, where many replicas were available. Not the same as doing the real thing, but conservation of the old ones was ensured., but our little nest egg was removed.
With this money we were able to start work early in1964. I had just purchased a cine-camera at the time, and resolved to make a record of the progress of the work. The opening scene is of the old building in a snow covered churchyard, and the end is the repaired church also surrounded by snow., just a year later.
The first sign of activity was the erection of scaffolding, surrounding the tower from top to bottom. Later workmen chopped away all the loose clunch and the remaining flint stones ( not to be confused with the cartoon characters). The surface was replaced by Barnack stone , and small flints bound in by a mortar of lime and flint grit, so that the surface you see to-day is all of this century, and very different from the black and white of the original.
Whilst all this was happening, the fund raising activity was to seek out grant aiding bodies and inform them of our plight. This was quite successful, and together with the Brass Rubbing money, and local donations after updates in the press, we were able to keep the work progressing. As treasurer it was my duty to follow up any source of income, and press articles were very useful.
During the summer the newly carved arcading for the final course arrived, This was duly hoisted into position, and placed on a reinforced concrete ring cast over the top of the old work, to tie it in, and provide a firm foundation. This concrete ring also held the steel beams onto which the fleche was later fixed
At this time scaffolding was also erected inside the tower so that the remaining beam of the old bell frame could be removed. A pity really as it was so secure being fourteen inches square, and perfectly sound. It had to go so that the new ceiling could be seen uninterrupted. This scaffold also helped the workmen to raise up the steel beams
It was during the reconstruction of the upper parts that a gargoyle was found. It seemed that at one time there must have eight, one for each side. So, seven more blocks, some eight inches square were built into the stonework. These were to be carved later before the scaffold was taken away. by Mr Shuffleton the stonemason. He was given three days to carve an image on the seven new blocks. (the original one is directly over the porch) The Vicar suggested the seven deadly sins, but he was politely told that there was no time for any research, so faces of those who were at work there, or were passing by. were used as models The architect, the foreman, the Vicar, a director of Rattee & Kett, Mr Jim Sheldrick ( the one with a lovely moustache,) one of the workmen, and myself.
My image is overlooking Anglesey House, on the south-west corner of the tower to keep off all intruders and cowans ! This selection was duly mulled over in the Red Lion, and accounts of the dissention reached the local papers. This also appealed to the National press, as the choice may have been undemocratic. A cartoon by Emmwood appeared in the Daily Mail on 15th December 1964. This sparked interest from many places, well-wishers who had biked out to see the two churches when they were students, and many others , who sent ten pounds or so, saying well done
As beer and I do not mix , I was not a patron of the Red Lion, but tried to keep this story alive for the sake of the finances, "furrener"or not. We were beginning to get a small short-fall in funds, but the contractors said they were sure that in time they would be paid in full, so work carried on with the final phase of putting up the Fleche. The folk depicted in the cartoon are all identifiable, but the fifty year rule prevents me from naming them. (my image was a guess as I was not present).