With huge sections of interlocking timber the Oak roof supported itself for over a hundred years. Now with years of water ingress the Congregation at St Oswalds Winwick were compelled to act and save its Heritage for future generations.

St Oswalds Church Winwick is a grade one listed building. Parts of the structure date back to 1330. Oliver Cromwell is thought to have stationed his troops in the Church in 1648. The Church is built in the Gothic Revival style. Over the years prestigious Architects such as Pugin, Paley & Austin have added to the structure.

The beam ends in the South Aisle roof had succumbed to rot because of years of water ingress. Whilst not unsafe the whole roof  would have become unstable over time.

Our mission was to provide extra support to the sixteenth century oak beam and panel roof.

The trick here therefore was to have the Oak roof supported by modern means whilst preserving as much of the historic timber as possible. The solution was to insert a huge but slim stainless steel lattice between the beams and the outer roof covering. This would be strong enough to take all the strain off the historic roof.

Certain timber’s were cut back and sympathetically replaced with carved Oak. In the end very few sections of timber were replaced and as much of the original roof as possible saved for the future.  A network of steel beams now supports the roof and a new stainless steel covering ensures no further rainwater will get in. From inside the building you wouldn’t notice any change to the beautiful ceiling above.

When the roof was finished and water tight it was time to start on the inside.

We built a new oak stage area with concealed electrics.  This provided more flexibility for the congregation and musical groups to get closer to their audience. The stepped stage also solved the large height difference between the Nave and Chancel. The stage was finished off with two removable Communion Altar rails and a very high quality carpet.