An ancient Yorkshire church dating back to the 9th century may have been saved from slow collapse thanks to the eagle eye of congregation member and HBPW Managing Partner, Paul Withers!
Paul, who spends much of his free time in North Yorkshire, can often be found in one of the pews at St Edmund’s Church, Marske.
So, when he spotted a crack in the main arch between the chancel and the altar and observed how it was expanding month by month, he thought it was time to raise the alarm.
Interior shot of St Edmund’s Church, Marske
“My wife, Elizabeth, is on the parish council so I pointed out what was happening and it was agreed that I would start to monitor the movement of the crack using a DEMEC gauge,” said Paul.
Further research revealed that a downpipe from the roof of the structure was leaking directly into the ground and had been for nigh on a decade! Consequently, the ground had softened causing the church’s foundations to settle and rotate, prompting the expanding crack in the internal arch.
“We instituted some further investigations and arranged for the drains to be dug up and replaced so that there was a means for any surplus water to be carried away from the foundations. Thereafter the expanding crack stabIlised and, ironically, began to close!
“Apart from being hugely damaging to ancient structures, problems of this nature can also be very subtle, occurring slowly over a period of years. Fortunately, I am an engineer and have spent a lifetime dealing with such problems so the warning signals were quickly apparent to me.
“On the day in question my concentration must have strayed away from the vicar’s sermon which is just as well. Had Maradona been around he might have said that this intervention was ‘the hand of God!’ Thank God the Almighty was at hand. The problem now appears to be resolved!”