St George’s Church, Brede is a prominent landmark for motorists on the A28 as they drive up the steep hill after crossing Brede Bridge. The parish church dates originally from the twelfth century when it was built for the monks of Fecamp Abbey in Normandy, but it has been much altered since then. St George’s attracts many visitors, notably at the time of its popular annual Flower Festival, held during the late August Bank Holiday weekend.
For most of the past two months, however, the building has been shrouded in scaffolding and protective sheeting as much-needed repairs to the roof, leadwork, and rainwater gutters and downpipes were carried out. A survey had revealed the poor state of the roof especially on the north side, where tiles had flaked and split, creating a hazard to the passer-by. The solution was to replace them with new hand-made tiles sourced locally. Rainwater goods were in an equally bad way, with missing lengths of guttering and inadequate down-pipes, so that water was soaking through the walls and causing damage inside the building. The roof refurbishment was completed on time, at the start of the summer wedding season and the church looks splendid. The contractors are to be congratulated on their excellent craftsmanship and attention to detail.
The roofing works have, incidentally, provided potential new housing for bats, because following advice from the Bat Conservation Trust special “bat tiles” were incorporated in the tiling to allow bats access to tiny spaces between the tiles and the underlay. Bats have had a bad press because of the damage they cause to internal fittings in churches, so it is hoped that they will remain content with the housing provided for them outside the building.
The works were undertaken with the help of a grant of from the Listed Places of Worship Roof Scheme, a government sponsored fund that was set up to help make the UK’s listed places of worship weathertight, safe and open for use. St George’s received £67,400 (75% of the project costs). St George’s was one of only ten churches in East Sussex to be awarded a grant in the first round (502 churches were awarded grants nationwide in that round). An additional generous donation of £3000 was contributed by the Friends of St George’s Brede. This funding has made possible a project that otherwise would have been completely beyond the church’s limited means.
John Crook is consultant archaeologist to Winchester Cathedral