|
The church
wall restoration project began last year when four members
of Lubenham Appraisal Group applied to enter the Better Villages
competition. Their nominated challenge was the rebuilding
of the deteriorating church wall.
In June 1999 it was announced that Lubenham had won a first
prize of £5000.
Months of planning were undertaken - with quantities of material,
storage areas, safety matters, arranging professional help
on dry stonewalling and iron railing repairs.
March 2000 saw the first of many work parties and lots of
local volunteers under the expert guidance of Trevor Alcock.
Work in progress.
A Millennium
scroll, signed by villagers, has been buried within the wall.
June
2001 Update
Our wall project has won joint second place in the Village
Ventures Competition recently run by the Rural Community Council
and sponsored by the Leicester Mercwy. The award carried a
£50 prize, which has been added to the Wall account.
Phase Two is now complete and, as well as finishing it, our
hardy volunteers also cleared the path from the South Porch
to the steps and set gateposts at the top of the steps. The
path looks good, and was much appreciated by Julie and Mark
at their wedding last month! The steps have also been repaired.
A huge thank you to everyone who helped!
There is some stone left over which may be suitable for garden
rockeries or walls. If you would like some, in return for
a small donation to the Wall fund, please contact Diana Cook
on 464890. We can help with transporting it within the village
if necessary.
There has been some debate about the rest of the wall (fiom
the yew tree to the end of the churchyard). Some people think
it should be continued in line with the what we have done;
others hold that, since that part, along an extension to the
churchyard, was originally a cut stone and not a dry stone
wall, it should be restored only to its former state. (Others
feel that they are weary from their efforts and that unless
additional regular strong volunteer help can be mustered,
the project is more than they can manage.)
In order to build a dry stone wall additional permissions
will be required, since this part of the churchyard is still
used for burials. Almost certainly the width of the wall will
have to be increased, to do it properly with backing stone,
and this might entail extending further on to the grass verge
- which may be a problem. We would be interested to hear the
views of others in the village so that those involved can
make a decision.
We hope there will be enough funds to restore and rehang the
gates on the north side of the church. Our bank balance currently
stands at around £3,500.
The first
part of the wall was completed in the Year 2000.
The second part was completed during the Spring of 2001.
This
historic and very community spirited project has been recorded
on video and a detailed account, including press cuttings
and photographs, is available for future reference.
John Martin
June 2001
|
