Our first project was the much-needed cleaning of the church clock, followed by major repairs to the beautiful east window and the side lancet windows. We have now completed the restoration of the fifteenth-century porch entrance to the church as can be seen from the pictures below.
The Friends’ trustees have also prepared and installed a self-guided tour of St Mary’s, featuring a series of paddles attached at different places around the church. The short paragraphs describing the special features at each site are presented in English, French, and German.
Repairs have also been made to the tower roof and gutters, both of which were letting in water for some time prior to the Friends funding of the repairs. We have also replaced some fallen plaster in the roof of the Chancel, which was carried out by specialists using horsehair and dung.
Our major project during 2020 and 2021 was the repair of the 16 buttresses around the church. Our specialist stonemason has now finished repointing and replacing the stonework on the buttresses and around the two vestry windows, which was badly eroded.
We appealed to our members in the summer of 2021 for contributions towards the cost of a badly needed new sound system for St. Mary’s. We made this appeal knowing that this was a departure from our usual works to the fabric of the church. We were delighted when a total of 16 members came forward, including 3 major donors, and the total cost was raised. The new sound system has now been installed.
Our major renovation project for 2022 was the repair of the east wall. This included repointing some of the flint work on the wall, repair and replacement of the coping stones up to the apex, the large apex stone itself and replacement of the stone cross which had been lost long ago. Please do have a look and see what a great job our stonemasons have done. We also replaced the wooden louvres in the window on the north face of the tower.
The Friends of St Mary's Church Lenham 