St. Helen's Church - Maintenance Part IV

Evidence of severe structural movement

Having spent more than 2 years helping out with a wide variety of tasks at St. Helen’s church in Treeton – up on the roofs, out in the churchyard, clearing ivy and sweeping steps and paths – I have got to know the fabric of the church and its boundary walls very well.

The main entrance to St. Helen's churchyard on Front Street

In the 20 years that I have lived in Treeton, I only know of two occasions when masonry work has been carried out to the church – once when I was in Paraguay for several weeks when work was undertaken to the tower and another time when there were repairs to the main entrance steps.

The main entrance steps to St. Helen's church

I have not yet had an opportunity to meet the church architect but, with my background in the building restoration industry and possessing specialist skills in stone matching, I would be very interested to discuss how this Grade I Listed church could be best maintained; however, not being party to the process that decides what work should be done, I just continue to make my own observations of the changing condition of the church and its churchyard.

A general view of the retaining wall on Church Lane

As a geologist, I know the escarpment very well, having viewed it from afar and explored the various lanes and paths that cross it many times. I have particularly noticed the walls that stretch from Station Road to Washfield Lane, where the mainly Rotherham Red sandstone walls contains a high proportion of Treeton Rock 

A set of steps from Church Lane to St. Helen's church

Like St. Helen's church, many sections of the walls here had become thickly covered in ivy but, now that this has been cleared, it is much easier to observe and record any structural movement that may be taking place here - given the coal mining history of Treeton and its surrounds.

The retaining wall on Church Lane

To the rear entrance on Church Lane, a large tree occupying the churchyard here is on the verge of causing a structural failure to a retaining wall. Rotherham MBC have been informed of this many times by various parties and, in the past two years, a section of this wall has been displaced by more than 5 cm yet - unlike the interior of the church - no attempt has been made to monitor the movement here with any kind of tell-tale.

Structural movement at St. Helen's church