Restoration Project 2020 – 2021

Just Giving

Our Meeting House has undergone an extensive restoration programme from February 2020 to May 2021 to make it safe and sustainable during the last year to make it safe and sustainable for the next 300 years. We are very grateful to all the organisations and bodies who have helped us raise the necessary funds.

Thanks go to: Historic England; National Churches Trust; Viridor; Suffolk Historic Churches Trust; Gregson Trust; Lord Belstead Charitable Settlement; Alfred Williams Charitable Trust; Garfield Weston and all those individuals who have donated through our Just Giving page or via the fundraising events we held. It is only through such generosity that we have been able to complete this project. THANK YOU.

Restoration

Following an in depth review of our Meeting House building by our Property Manager Phil Chatfield we became aware of the extensive restoration required to preserve the building for future generations. It was put on the Heritage At Risk register in 2018 and we worked hard to raise funds (a total of £668,696), applying for grants and raising funds through a variety of events and appeals.

The work started in February 2020 and we hoped it would be completed by the autumn of that year. The international Covid 19 pandemic interrupted our plans as it did for many other people and meant a delayed finish – April 2021. Much of the necessary work was hidden within the walls and the roof.

Now, after fifteen months of restoration work we are pleased to be able to open our historic Meeting House to the public for events and for services.

We have aimed to fulfill Trudi Hughes from Historic England’s wish for when the restoration work has been done, when she said ‘We want to walk in and feel nothing has changed’. We are confident we have been able to do that and that means we have succeeded in preserving our Meeting House for the future.

The successful restoration has been covered by ITV News and in the Ipswich Star.

Awards

The Ipswich Unitarian Meeting House has been privileged to receive recognition for its remarkable restoration in the form of several awards bestowed upon it! In order from left to right, the photos below depict awards from the Ipswich Society, the Suffolk Preservation Society, and RIBA Suffolk Craftsmanship Awards.

Post Restoration Photographs
©Historic England – Patricia Payne

As well as the work to preserve our building, we took the opportunity to adapt the access to make it easier for people with a mobility challenge and to install toilet facilities (with baby change and adaptations for people with a disability). These updates make the building more inclusive for all and we will be holding more concerts and other events.

Thank you to all the grant funders and fundraisers who have made all this possible:

Lord Belstead Charitable Settlement

Alfred Williams Charitable Trust

We are extremely grateful to everyone who has supported us and our fundraising efforts – our congregation; our friends and supporters; those who have donated via JustGiving. To everyone a HUGE thank you! Photos below show during and after the restoration.

We also acknowledge the commitment and generosity of our congregation and private funders through JustGiving, fundraising and donations. The main contractors for the work were Valiant, supported by craftspeople with special historic craft skills. Trudi Hughes from Historic England said at the beginning of the project that it would be a success if when it was finished, people struggled to notice what we had done, meaning that the building had been restored sensitively and effectively. We are happy to have achieved that. The building has now been removed from the Heritage At Risk Register and is preserved for future generations.

This is a summary of the work done during the restoration project:

• New roof covering including hand made plain tiles and bat friendly under-felt.

• Compartmentalisation was added to the roof to prevent spread of fire in the roof space.

• Safe access was added.

• The roof was insulated with fire-proof insulation to a depth of 300mm at ceiling level.

• The hard external wall Render, metal lath and foil background was removed as this was causing condensation and subsequently damage to the timber frame and metalwork.

• The 1960’s/70’s corroded steel repairs were removed and replaced with an oak sole plate with improved connections to the timber frame. Each main post was supported in turn as the new sole plate was installed.

• The external walls were re- rendered with lime rich render on chestnut wooden lath and finished in limewash.

• The void within the external walls was insulated with sheep’s wool making the whole external wall construction breathable.

• The rotten 1960’s window frames on the south elevation were replaced with new frames to match the older frames of the building. The leaded glassing was carefully removed, restored and replaced into the new frames.

• Front entrance and apron in front of the building was lowered for easy access for people with a disability. The drainage was improved and the damaged lead to the porticos to the front entrances replaced.

• Crack damaged leaded glazing was repaired and lead flashings fixed over all the windows.

• Fire alarm system installed (see sensors in the ceilings) and a call system put in place.

• New Toilet installed – with facilities for baby change and access for people with a disability.

• Paving was lowered on east side to protect the sole plates and give safe access.