Our church walls are special. Parts date back to the time of the Anglo-Saxons, over a thousand years ago.
The work that is planned will clean and conserve the walls of the nave (the main area of the church) and the chapel, including the beautiful three seat sedilia installed by Bishop Thomas de Bytton in 1299.
As a result, the walls will not only be cleaner and the whole church brighter, but they will be conserved for the future.
This photograph was taken in the 1870s soon after a fine new cedar roof was installed and the walls were stripped of plaster. It was fashionable to strip back walls at that time, although it would have destroyed the medieval fabric including wall paintings. But look at how bright and clean the walls are compared to today.
Over the years, the walls have become very dirty. Soot, grime and pollution have darkened their appearance adding to the gloomy interior. The dirt and pollution is bad for the stone and there have been some shoddy repairs using inappropriate materials which need to be put right. We need to act carefully and not repeat some of the mistakes of the past.