The Chapel of St Mary & St Nicholas at Lancing

“You will doubtless avail yourself of the wisest experience and counsel that you can command in respect of the strength of glass, glazing and iron support that will be necessary, especially in the south side, for security against the wind, in view of the inevitable burden that the repairs of so great an edifice will entail in the future.”

Thus wrote Provost E C Lowe to Billy Woodard in April 1897. Doubtless! The trouble is that it is not just the wind, but heat and cold, wet and dry, salt and pollution that all attack the stone. Scaynes Hill Sandstone at its best is an excellent colour and has great load bearing capacity under compression, but it is porous and friable with tiny grains and poor adhesion. Once it starts to break down it quickly reverts to sand. And ironically that very ironwork that Billy put in expands with rust and can split an 18 inch block of stone.

The last major restoration of the nine south clerestory windows was in 1982-84 and much of that work has held up well. The current contract, which started in February 2007 and is due to finish August 2008, is more extensive following lessons learnt repairing the apse. CWO Ltd, under the direction of Michael Drury, Architect; Andrew Waring, Engineer; John Ebdon, honorary planning and management adviser, and Jeff Weeks, Quantity Surveyor, are carrying out work on an unprecedented scale. All the ferramenta is being removed from every window, taken off site to be treated and tipped with stainless steel, and then reinstated. Split stones in mullions and tracery are being renewed; eroded areas and failed pointing built up and filled in. Our stock of Scaynes Hill stone is being used for sensitive areas, though it is notoriously difficult to work, supplemented by West Hoathly and Bolton Wood where appropriate.

Water repellent will be applied again and it is hoped that the repairs will last at least 50 years. It has been necessary to put a horizontal structure across the chapel at triforium level, which, now the windows to the south side are finished, has allowed the scaffold towers to be moved across to the other side so work to the north clerestory windows can begin. The windows to the north are in much better condition than those to the south; however it is intended that they will be given the same thorough treatment. When they are done, it should not be necessary to do conservation work inside the Chapel for half a century, but we will continue our annual high-level inspections.

Jeremy Tomlinson, Hon Secretary
Friends of Lancing College Chapel