News Archive

August

Phase 1 is now completed. Faculty permission has been obtained to move the in St Stephens organ to St Mary Arches in November/December. A grant promise of £3,000 from the Foundation for Sports and the Arts has been received to support this (total cost £31,000); other fundraising is proceeding.

The Parish discussion on 6th July renewed emphasis on the access for all theme for the re-ordered St Stephens in Phase 2 of the Project. Publicity material is being prepared for the launch after the summer.

Two generous personal donations each of £500 were received towards the end of July to help introduce Phase 2. Please support the Thursday lunchtime events in aid of the Project during August. We still have a million pounds to raise!

July

There will be an update for the Parish after the morning service in St Mary Arches on 6th July.

Caroline’s voice workshop raised £128 (inc. Gift Aided contributions) for the Project. She would like to say a big “thank you” to those who attended, filled in the feedback forms and gave so generously to the Project. To those who so indicated, she'd be very happy to offer a follow-up 1-1 session and, of course, at no charge!'

The public continue to give generous support to the Project. Don’t forget the lunchtime free concerts each Thursday starting July 31st. Thanks to all who help with these events...

May/June

On We are now in a quieter period, as we prepare for a fresh fundraising launch for the remaining work to be done both outside and inside St Stephen’s. We are currently waiting for information about the phasing of work and the funds needed, and so the Parish discussion planned for May 4th is being postponed to June or July.

The paperwork for seeking permission to move the organ to St Mary Arches is now complete, and the final payments relating to the Phase 1 repairs to the roof and tower are expected to take place this month.

April

On 14th March, St Stephen’s was formally handed back to the Parish at the completion of the essential repairs to the roof and tower. All are invited to the thanksgiving service on Sunday 20th when the architect and others will be attending.

Before After Thanks to all those who contributed to the successful completion of the external repairs. Funding is currently being sought for the crypt assessment, moving the organ to St Mary Arches and to meet the costs of preparing for the next stage of the Project - the modernisation of the interior. There is still a long way to go, but progress is being made.

March

The scaffolding has been removed! – a more complex task than meets the eye.

Before                                                                        After

And back at ground level, the search has begun for the ancient crypt, last officially visited in 1826. 20mm holes have been drilled through the floor in various places in accordance with a conjectural plan of where the crypt might be. A void has been found beneath the floor and the archaeologist is preparing a ground plan of where a larger hole might be made to permit physical and lighting access.

Funding is currently being sought for the crypt assessment, moving the organ to St Mary Arches and to meet the costs of preparing for the next stage of the Project. There is still a long way to go, but progress is being made. Thanks to all who continue to support the Project, both practically and prayerfully.

he external rendering is currently being finished off; scaffolding should be removed, starting towards the end of this month. Completion is still expected in mid-March.

The Archaeology Unit has just produced a detailed report about the crypt. Following a recent scan (very difficult, owing to steel mesh laid in 1972), some drilling and camera work is now proposed. There’s growing interest. Watch this space!

January 2008

The north aisle parapet has been rebuilt; the east gable damage has been completely repaired, ‘tile stitching’ on the tower is under way, the stair tower brickwork has been redone, the roof structure’ felted’ and re-battened - and is now water-proof!!!!

The top of the tower is finished, repairs to the body of the tower are almost complete and nearly all of the new slates are in place. We are still on target to complete works by the end of February, with a cleaning of the Church during March and full re-opening in April. The new timberwork and slates are almost all in place. The timbers still show signs of incendiary bomb burning from the 1942 blitz which left this building as the only one standing in this part of Exeter. The tower needed more work than expected. It is receiving essential strengthening to avoid it falling into the High Street.

The parapet over the High Street could be moved by hand after the cement rendering had been removed! We are replacing this using as many of the ancient bricks as possible. Other faults to the east end of the building have also been found and put right. These works are expected to take until the end of January to complete.

When the outside repairs are completed, we start on the much bigger job of repairing inside St Stephen’s.

There is still a long way to go but with your continued help we know we will get there.

December

We’re well into the Project now. The top of the tower is finished, repairs to the body of the tower are 75% complete and 80% of the new slates are in place. We are still on target to complete works by the end of February, with a cleaning of the church during March and full re-opening in April.
... View the latest photos of the work

There is to be a special service in St Stephen’s commemorating the Project on Sunday 16th December at the usual time of 11.00am. The service is to be led by the Dean, and the design team have been invited, immediately afterwards, to describe the work completed to date and that yet to come. There will be a display of plans and photographs. Please make a special effort to come.
... Prayer for St Stephen's Project
... Benedicite   

Burnt-out ridge is repaired

November

(Richard writes) … progress continues and, in recent weeks, the north aisle parapet has been rebuilt, the east gable damage has been completely repaired, ‘tile stitching’ on the tower is under way, the stair tower brickwork has been redone, and the roof structure ‘felted’ and re-battened - and is now water-proof (hooray!).

The completion date is now set for Feb 29th - does anyone have any ideas for a publicity stunt (preferably legal, decent and non-fattening) to mark it?

 **and don’t forget the one-woman show on Saturday 3rd November by Gabrielle Drake entitled Dear Scheherezade – Mrs Gaskell in her own words. 7.30pm in the New Theatre, Friars Walk.  Proceeds to the project.

4th October

We understand that the roof structure is proving to be in slightly better repair than expected, but the East gable is in a worse state! The builders are currently estimating March 13th 2008 as the completion date for the various Phase 1 repairs.  Plans are now well in hand for moving the organ in St Stephen’s into St Mary Arches.

As part of the programme of Autumn events, there will be a one-woman show on 3rd November by Gabrielle Drake entitled Dear Scheherezade – Mrs Gaskell in her own words. Watch for notices!

During August there was considerable media interest in St Stephen’s church following the exposure of blitz damage to the roof timbers and speculation concerning the inspection of the 11th century crypt. Evidence of the slow incendiary bomb burning in the central timbers supporting the roof was revealed once all the slates had been removed. Photographs show that St Stephens is the only building to remain standing in this part of Exeter following the devastating blitz of May 1942. The slow burn probably lasted for months or even years and was kept in check by the hardness of the ancient oak beams and the relative lack of oxygen in the roof space. A second TV documentary company has expressed interest in the crypt.

August 2007
The church is now enclosed in protective sheeting and work has commenced on the roof. The inside of the building has been stripped of valuable items (tapestry, Charles 1st coat of arms, pictures etc.) and the organ has been encased with protective material. The tapestry is being cleaned and stored during its absence. All this in case the ceiling does not hold out!

Twelve posters – prepared by a graphic artist – have been placed on the hoarding around the church. Thanks to those who have worked at this and who have met the necessary cost.

A visit has been made to Chagford Church where the church interior has been re-built following designs by the architect preparing our own changes. All were very impressed. By the end of 2010, St Stephen’s will be looking very different.

Discussions continue with two major funding agencies concerning the second phase of the project while arrangements continue for the proposed moving of the organ to St Mary Arches and an assessment of the crypt (which has not been officially opened since 1826).

The Events Committee have decided there should be no lunch-time concerts during August this year. For safety reasons we have agreed that St Stephen’s will remain closed during the week.

The first progress report from the builders indicates there have been no accidents and that the security staff have been called out twice concerning trespass onto the scaffolding. No intruders were found.

See Report of activities in July & August for more details.

Exeter's Express & Echo features the St Stephen's Project (26th July)

TRUE EXTENT OF BLITZ DAMAGE TO CHURCH IS REVEALED BY BUILDERS

They are raising the roof at one of Exeter's oldest and most-loved churches - and giving thanks it's still there. 

For a study of the now-exposed ancient beams shows that it could have been on fire for years.  

St Stephen's, which has stood in the High Street since Saxon times, is undergoing a major £1m restoration.

And now that the slates are off, the damage that was caused by an incendiary bomb during the Blitz in 1942 can be fully appreciated....

from www.thisisexeter.co.uk, website of the Express & Echo

29th June
The scaffolders arrived – unannounced – at the beginning of June. While this was three weeks early it was welcomed as a sign that, at last, the Project had really started. During the whole of June the work continued and the church is now enveloped in scaffolding and sheeting and surrounded by grey-painted hoarding. A major development has been the commissioning of an artist/graphic designer to provide posters on the hoarding describing St Stephen’s and the Project. This commission, which resulted from a donation from a Parish member, will be displayed in July

See Report of activities in May & June for more details.

The restoration continues under cover

26th May
The contracts have been signed and meetings have taken place with the builders - Ellis and Co.  The plan is for closure to start from Monday 21st May, with scaffolding and boarding being erected around the church during that week. But watch out for notices about this, as much depends on how quickly the builder receives a permit to erect the scaffolding on the public highway

Scaffolding rises - 3rd June

25th March
We have raised the money needed to start the first phase of the project – the essential repairs to the roof and tower will begin shortly. A big thank you to everyone who has made this possible.   We now move on to the next phase: the improvements to the inside of the church. We still have a long way to go but with your help we will get there!   

See Report of activities in March & April for more details.

End February
This is a time of waiting …… and waiting. Before being able to proceed with the repairs to the roof and tower it is necessary for us to obtain permission to proceed from both the Diocese and from English Heritage. The Diocese has responsibility for ensuring that what is done to the building is both appropriate and to be undertaken efficiently; English Heritage provides about half the cost of the necessary repairs and will only release their grant if they are satisfied that our heritage is being appropriately cared for and that what we propose for the roof and tower is architecturally necessary and efficiently planned.  

See Report of activities in Jan & Feb for more details.

Damage inside the church