Historic Churches 2022

28 BCD SPECIAL REPORT ON HISTORIC CHURCHES 29TH ANNUAL EDITION AFTER THE FIRE The Conservation and Repair of Royston Parish Church Kate Gunner F OR THOSE of us who work in conservation there are few sights more dreadful than when a church is damaged or destroyed by fire. Fire does not respect the irreplaceable architecture or its history, nor the memories of the community and their ancestors who may have worshiped there for generations. Sadly, the destruction invariably extends to include areas which were not directly damaged by the flame or heat of the fire, but indirectly, by the smoke, soot and falling debris, or by the large volume of water used to extinguish the fire. This was the case for St John the Baptist, a Grade I listed church in Royston, Hertfordshire, when it suffered a fire in the early hours of 9th December 2018. It took six fire engines with around 25 fire crew to extinguish it. The fire devastated the tower where it started, including the bell ringing chamber and all interior woodwork. Significant damage was also caused to the west end of the nave and aisles, which were built around 1250 and originally formed the quire and sanctuary of a large church belonging to the Augustinian Priory of Royston. The church suffered from subsequent damage including the partial collapse of the nave roof, and the failure of several areas of the floor where there were underlying voids as a result of the water used to extinguish the fire. The interior and contents of the whole church suffered extensive smoke damage. The cause of the fire has not been fully identified. It was originally feared that lead had been stolen from the roof, but after an investigation the police concluded that these claims were unfounded and ruled out arson as the cause. Most of the repair and conservation work has been covered by the insurance, and additional funds were raised for further improvements by the parochial church council with the help of the community. Within weeks of the fire a designed Layher system scaffold was urgently erected with a temporary roof to protect the church from the winter weather. In May 2019, under instruction from property consultants Barker Associates, a specialist heritage construction company, Bakers of Danbury Ltd, began the enabling works which involved stripping all fire damaged material, moving the church assets into storage and making the structure safe. Further scaffolding was erected inside the tower to enable the client’s building consultants to survey the damage and prepare detailed specifications for the reinstatement works. The final stage of works started in April 2021 and are due to be completed late summer 2022. CLEANING FIRE DAMAGED STONE AND WOOD Cleaning trials using dry ice blasting and DOFF were carried out in inconspicuous places throughout the interior and exterior of the church, on both soiled stone and fire damaged timber. These enabled Bakers of Danbury’s team to determine the ideal pressure to clean the fire damaged timbers and stone sympathetically, with least risk to the substrate. The DOFF method of cleaning uses a high temperature steam and is designed to remove dirt and grime The tower where the fire started (All photos: Kate Gunner) Charred surface of a boss from the ceiling of the nave