Bansfield Benefice Hall Project- update

Report by Michael McEvoy.

Floor - Our chosen option with the ‘perimeter’ concrete base keeps the disturbance of the ground to a minimum, and lessens the likelihood of disturbing any earlier interments even though they would be 200 years old or more.

The blocking of the old toilet doorway and the forming of the new one from the hall is well under way. This shows how well the old hall is built. The outer wall is entirely constructed from large flints to a depth of 14 inches.

The last two days have seen the floor being skimmed of surplus soil taking it down about 12 inches. This has revealed the earlier, probably second phase, where several parallel lines of broken floor bricks were laid to give support to the existing floor joists. These broken bricks could have been part of the original floor. A few items of interest were found – a lead button; an old roof slate, probably used as a child’s blackboard. Chalked on it is the Girl Guides sign marked ‘Kingfisher Troop’. John Seal and I visited the hall after the builders had left and found a slate pencil, some pieces of clay pipe, and a few other as yet unidentified items.

31st August-3rd September
No work was done by the builders, partly due to some leave being taken.

The rainwater downpipe at the front of the building has been moved to empty into the churchyard. Extra pipework will be added to give a ‘tidy’ appearance, and a small soakaway will be dug to take the run off. These jobs are being done by the church members to save on costs. These changes will remove the danger of icy patches forming on the footpath, and eventually save around £30.00 a year in Water charges.

The Saturday working party saw the church being cleaned in preparation for Samantha Chester’s wedding the following week. Most of the wood removed from the hall was found to be in poor condition and was burnt by Philip Draycott and young Tom. A few sections were kept for possible repairs in the roof space.

I would like to thank John and Margaret Chittock for providing temporary storage for the glass kitchen cabinet and some sacks of insulation which we hope to reuse once the woodworm treatment is completed in the loft space.