Restoration of Wells church finally completed

The restoration of St Nicholas Church in Wells next the Sea has finally been completed following a six-year restoration project costing over £0.5m.

Work to restore the thirteenth century church began in 2019 and saw the building listed on Historic England's Heritage At Risk Register. Around £560,000 has been spent on the project, almost half of which was granted by National Lottery Heritage Fund.
 
Essential repairs were made to the tower roof and to cracks in the tower stairwell, and lead on the south aisle roof also needed to be replaced. As the work progressed, it was discovered that other work needed to be carried out to the buttresses, the south porch and various rainwater goods.
 
The final stage of the project will be the re-installation of the flagpole on the tower, which will take place sometime in June.
 
To mark the occasion, the church will be hosting an event this Sunday, May 18, from 11am. All of those who have been involved in the project, including a representative of the Heritage Lottery fund, the architect, the Bishop of Norwich and all the townspeople, are invited to the celebration event to celebrate the work that went into the restoration.
 
This is not the first time St Nicholas Church, has had to undergo restoration work, as it was damaged in a fire after lightning struck it in 1879. Although the medieval tower, most of the external walls and the south porch survived the fire, the church was re-built in 1883.
 
This story is based on an article in the North Norfolk News.

The image of St Nicholas Church above is courtesy of norfolkchurches.co.uk

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