Church Tower presents a fresh face

You may have noticed that the scaffolding has been removed from the top of the Church Tower- revealing the recent work of repair and restoration . The contractors, E W Beard of Swindon, have taken a great deal of trouble to match the old rendering.This was described in Pevsner as 'Roman concrete' and compared with modern rendering has much more aggregate (pebbles) in the mix. The original rendering was probably not lime-washed though it had become so grimy over the years that it was difficult to tell. Nevertheless the architect recommended protecting the rendering with a faintly pinkish wash that so far has earned universal approval. The restoration also involved installing a new anti-pigeon net and wires and replacing the deteriorated brick and stonework- though much of this carefully crafted work is not visible from the ground. The clock faces have also been put back and I hope we can eventually restore the striking mechanism. As a result, the Tower will be safe and splendid for the next generation of Jerichoites. So far £170,000 has been raised towards our target of £250,000 and I am extremely grateful to all who have contributed In order to reach the target there will be a number of events over the next few months which I hope the people of Jericho will support.