St Mary Redcliffe A Year at Redcliffe Magazine 2022

Development, buildings and fabric
Fabric report (a)
Once every five years all the CofE churches
in England are required under church law
to have a quinquennial inspection of their
building.
In 2022, the inspection is due for St Mary
Redcliffe and to do this, I have to spend a
number of days inspecting all aspects of
the building. The survey starts with roofs,
rainwater goods and walls, considers each
of the windows, the churchyard and the
entire interior of the church including all
the roof spaces.
The conclusion of the inspection is a report
with recommendations for repairs. High
priority works need to be undertaken within
the next twelve months and lower priority
works need to be scheduled for some
point in the next 5 years. The high priority
works generally relate to Health and Safety
matters. In addition, a longer-term plan is
also being developed to consider the next
20-year period and the associated potential
costs. In addition to the report itself, there
is also a requirement to carry out a fiveyearly
electrical test and this will similarly
be carried out this year.
of the spire, the roped access conservator
abseils down each of the eight sides and
records the condition of the masonry on
survey drawings that have previously been
prepared.
Over the last twelve months, the main
project undertaken has been the re-lighting
of the chancel and this, combined with the
previous phases to relight the Lady Chapel
now means that the east end of the church
has been entirely re-lit.
Other projects undertaken include minor
masonry repairs and footpath repairs.
As always, it is a great privilege to be involved
in the upkeep of this magnificent building
and it is a joy to be able to inspect some of
the rarely visited parts of the church and to
reflect on its remarkable construction.
Marcus Chantrey
Inspecting Architect
Such is the uniqueness of the spire, that a
policy has also been adopted to undertake
a five-yearly detailed inspection of the spire.
As previously, this will be undertaken by
Philip Scorer of Vitruvius - Philip has been
inspecting the spire for approximately 20
years and over this time the condition of each
stone has been monitored and recorded.
Access to the top of the spire is provided by
Dawsons Steeplejacks who secure a ladder
to the outside thereby allowing ‘easy’ access
for the roped access team. Once at the top
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