Gosport Church Stonework is Restored

A £7,200 project has completed restoring the elaborate, and previously crumbling, stonework of Gosport Methodist Church, Stoke Road, Gosport back to its original glory.

The delicate sandstone of the over 100 year-old church (built in 1910) had gradually eroded as a result of weathering and traffic pollution. The urgent work to repair the damaged sandstone features began in November (2011) as they posed a potential risk to people using the footpath on Stoke Road, which runs below the church’s tower.

Highly skilled stonemasons from Wells Cathedral Stonemasons created hand-carved replicas of the sandstone surrounding the church’s apertures (unglazed openings in the church tower) and its colourful leaded-windows. The new stone has replaced the damaged features with replicas of their originals renewing the church to its former glory.

The church is a popular community venue for activities and groups such as Rainbows, Brownies, St John Ambulance Badgers, Age Concern, Sure Start, mother and toddlers, keep-fit, pilates, activity groups for the blind, diabetes group, Mandarin language classes, Solent Slot car club and the Mind charity lunch club. The exterior repair work has enabled the church to continue to provide a great service to the local community as it has endeavoured to do since it was built.

The project has been funded by a range of fundraising activities organised by members and friends of the church and a grant of £5,000 from The Veolia Environmental Trust made through the Landfill Communities Fund.

Treasurer of Gosport Methodist Church, Derek Slaymaker says, “It has taken just on twelve months from the start of this project to its completion. With the building being on the edge of the sidewalk, great care was necessary to make sure that the people passing below were kept safe. The groups using the premises were not unduly affected by the work, although restrictions to use of the access ramp were required.

“The Gosport Methodist Church Property Committee would like to thank Wells Cathedral Stonemasons for their work, both the way the repairs were carried out, and the quality of resulting workmanship.”

The Executive Director of the Veolia Environmental Trust, Margaret Cobbold, adds, “It is great to hear that the repairs are now complete, and that this popular community venue can continue to be used for a wide range of activities for many more years to come.”