Cosgrove Church Roof Crisis
The whole of the inside of the Church is covered in scaffolding - holding up the roof and protecting the builders while they work. A recent wedding had to be moved to another Church at 24 hours notice!

The two photographs above show the main ridge beam in deperately poor condition. This will need to be replaced by a massive beam of green oak which will flex and settle to the shape needed as it dries - like the last one 700 years ago.

In Spring 2017 the Church, as a Grade 1 Listed Building, underwent a Quinquennial inspection. It was decided that the lead on the roof needed replacing, but when the work began in December 2017 the Structural Engineer went up on the ridge beam and to his horror his screwdriver went almost through the timber. The photographs show how this beam, which is around 700 years old, is completely rotten, as are some of the smaller beams around it.

The Church was closed immediately and cannot be used again until these timbers are replaced. Services are currently taking place in the Village Hall.

Although the village has been fortunate in receiving a bequest and some initlal grants, we clearly need to raise more funds to pay for this extensive work. We urge you to help us by donating:

We have a Justgiving Page at https://www.justgiving.com/cosgrovechurch

If you shop online, go to https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk and choose Cosgrove Church as your cause. Every time you shop a percentage of your spend will come to us - but it won't cost you a penny.

Support one of our fundraising events. At present, if you have a connection to a family or house in Cosgrove we are offering to build you a Display Album about a topic of village history in return for a donation. Use the website contact button to enquire about this.

The outer shell of the roof is also in needed of attention, as are features like the leading and the chimney pot, which without the main beam won't stay up anyway!