St. John the Baptist Church, Myndtown
| Architect | Arrol & Snell |
|---|---|
| Project Value | £282,474 |
| English Heritage Advisor | John Tiernan |
St. John the Baptist Church, Myndtown, is nestled in the lower slopes at the northwest end of the Longmynd chain of hills, one of Shropshire’s most important wild landscapes.
The church is Grade II listed* and was on the English Heritage Buildings at Risk Register for many years. However, it has now been fully conserved by Phillips & Curry Limited in collaboration with Arrol & Snell Architects, with the assistance of a Heritage Lottery Fund Grant.
The church is a small structure built from rubble stone and fieldstone, externally covered with harling, render, and whitewash. It consists of a nave, a small chancel, a bellcote at the west end of the nave, and a small timber-framed south porch constructed in the mid-19th century.
The general condition of the church was extremely poor and required:
Complete re-roofing with new slates
Repairs to the rendered covered abutment between the nave and chancel roofs
Replacement of all rainwater goods
Installation of a new surface water drainage system around the perimeter of the church
The wall roof timbers were concealed by masonry infilling and needed to be opened up for inspection and repair. The south and West gable wall external walls from bulging and cracks, requiring sections of masonry to be carefully taken down and rebuilt. Additional concealed pinning and stabilization work was carried out to reinforce the structure.
In addition to these repairs, the bellcote frame and its cladding also required restoration.
Repair and Conservation Approach
The stripping and re-roofing of the slated roofs was not inherently complicated. However, it was necessary to undertake localized carpentry repairs to the 15th-century roof structure. During the restoration, a thin section of thermally insulating roofing felt (Tri-Iso Gold) was installed above the pine boarding, laid over the existing rafter system. This insulation was entirely concealed to maintain the historic appearance of the building. Additionally, precautions were taken to allow bats access where necessary.
Bellcote Restoration and Historic Findings
As work progressed, it became evident that the bellcote structure required significant carpentry repairs. Traditional medieval carpentry techniques were used to maintain historical integrity.
During this process, it was discovered that the bellcote contained extremely ancient timbers, including the headstock of the church bells. Dendrochronology (tree-ring dating) revealed that this headstock was the second-oldest in the country.
It was also found that the cambered tie beam of the south porch had been repurposed within the bellcote structure. All ancient timberwork was carefully conserved in situ, while the headstocks were sent to a conservator’s workshop for restoration before being reinstalled.
The exterior of the bellcote was then re-clad in oak boarding, and the vane rod and cardinal points were fully restored.
