Welcome! It's November 27, 2024.

Brightlingsea Info

Community News & Events

Update: Rotten roof beam discovery adds thousands to All Saints’ restoration bill

(Updated 02/06 with the link to the Just Giving page)

The discovery of serious decay in the main roof beam at the top of All Saint’s church tower has left the group managing its restoration with an unexpected bill that could top £70,000.

The damage was discovered while work to repair stonework on the Tudor tower is carried out as part of a £500,000 restoration project, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Initially it was thought that the damage – thought to have been caused by water tracking down the tower flagpole and hidden underneath lead roofing – could be repaired.

But now the Friends of All Saints’ say that the decay has been found to have spread inside the wood, leaving no option but to have it replaced with a new laminated timber beam.

With contingency budgets running low, the Friends are hoping that existing funders will come up with some of the necessary cash, but the group says it will have to raise at least £20,000 itself.

As a result, the group – which still hopes to re-open the church in August – has launched an emergency appeal for funds. “Although we are very thankful for the previous generosity of local support, nevertheless this completely unforeseen extra expense needs to be covered,” said group member Elizabeth Foss-Smith.

The Friends have a Just Giving page for donations – https://www.justgiving.com/friendsofallsaintsbrightlingsea – and personal donations can be made to the Friends of All Saints (charity no. 260143) c/o Elizabeth Foss-Smith, 16 Regent Road, Brightlingsea marked “Tower Appeal”.

The Friends will shortly be announcing a scheme to let supporters ‘buy’ a stone in the Tower and are planning a series of special fund-raising events.

• The work on the tower – and the damaged beam – can be see in our video tour here.

• As of June 2, £700 had been donated

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.
Get the info newsletter
  • Sign up for the Brightlingsea Info newsletter and keep up with the latest community news and events. Delivered once a week direct to your inbox.
We aim to:
  • Be a trusted source of unbiased news and information
  • Promote local businesses, organisations and events
  • Encourage a sense of community in Brightlingsea
Support us
  • Keeping Brightlingsea Info free costs money. We'd really appreciate a contribution to our costs. Click the button below to show your support. Thanks!
contact us
  • Brightlingsea Info
    7 Marennes Crescent
    Brightlingsea
    Essex CO7 0RX

Hello! Thanks for looking in!

Sign up to receive Brightlingsea News and Events direct to your inbox every week.

This field is required.

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

Brightometer form

Give a short description, ie 10 mile sponsored walk.
Add your full name or the name of your group or organisation
DD slash MM slash YYYY

Your details- not for publication

Name(Required)
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Add an event to the Brightlingsea Calendar

Contact Brightlingsea Info

We’re always pleased to hear from Brightlingsea Info readers. We're here for the community, so if you’ve something of interest to tell us or some news you think we should know about, drop us a line.