Whitworth is an award-winning practice of Chartered Architects and Chartered Building Surveyors. We provide a bespoke and comprehensive service from inception through to completion, offering flexibility over our involvement to align with our clients’ needs.
In 2015 around £3,000 worth of lead was stolen from the aisle roof of Combs Church, Suffolk. The theft occurred overnight and was one in a spate of thefts across the region. The cost of the resulting replacement and repair was nearly £60,000.
With the lead taken from the roof the interior of the church was exposed to the weather and water damage affected to the internal plaster. Even though all the lead wasn’t taken it all had to be removed from the aisles and a new finish had to be laid, prior to this though a temporary roof was formed to protect the church interior from further damage. As is often the case in situations such as these the re-use of lead is concerning due to its appeal to thieves, it has therefore been replaced with a terne coated stainless steel finish. Before this could be done though the re-roofing had to be approved the DAC and go through the proper decision making process. Alongside the roofing a number of wall repairs and new flashings were required.
Initially stainless steel has a harsher appearance than lead but over time it weathers down to contrast with lead nicely and this is already evident at Combs after a number of months. To further protect the roof smart water and an alarm has also been installed.
Read more on some of our thoughts for protecting your church’s lead roof.
Whitworth is pleased to have completed phase one of the reordering works at All Saints Church in Stanton, near Bury St Edmunds. This is a project focused on helping this much-loved historic building continue to serve its community for generations to come.
In 2023, Whitworth was approached by our client to sympathetically carry out the conversion of an existing 1980s garage, originally built to accommodate the previous owner’s Ferrari, to a new one-bedroom annexe accommodation.
Whitworth oversaw the restoration of the historic Martello Tower in Aldeburgh, the largest of its kind from the Napoleonic Wars.