Project aims

AIMS

The aims of the project are:
To ensure that thIs important collection of memorials and tombs is preserved for the future and made safely accessible to the local community and visitors to the church.
To provide an opportunity for education and training to preserve a range of important heritage skills.
To provide opportunities to those who wish to learn about the history of a small village community through study, interpretation and participation.
To extend these opportunities to those who do not normally have the chance to visit and learn about such sites.
To increase public awareness and knowledge by providing a well documented site, including displays and leaflets together with website access, as a basis for learning about these important aspects of our heritage.
To research the family history of those commemorated on the memorials and those commemorated on and buried in the tombs and to enable others to learn about such history
To evaluatge the project.

ST JAMES’S CHURCH

The overall condition of the church is described in the Environmental Conditions Report prepared by Sally Strachey Historic Conservation in June 2009.

CONSERVATION WORK

The conservation programme is described fully in the Conservation Report prepared by Sally Strachey Historic Conservation in April 2009. The conservation of the memorials and listed chest tombs using recognised and approved conservation techniques will be carried out in accordance with this report. It will also provide the opportunity through training to preserve a range of important heritage skills. The appointed conservators will be required to incorporate a training programme in their proposal.

Tender process

The work will be carried out by the appointed conservators who will be selected after a formal tender (minimum 3) process supervised by the architect. This will be carried out during January 2010. The conservation work will provide a framework in which to make heritage skills, history, social history, archaeology, architecture and art history relevant to a wide range of ages and interest levels. This will be achieved in association with our partners. In particular we aim to:

Reinstate the significance of the memorials and tombs to the social history of the community.
Provide formal training for students in a range of specialist heritage skills such as masonry, cleaning, plastering, archaeological recording and conservation.
Provide for the development of broader practical skills under full supervision for non-professionals with an interest in conservation.
Encourage increased awareness amongst young people of the opportunities for apprenticeships and vocational training.

Masons and Conservators working on the project will provide ongoing briefing for casual visitors and passers-by but also a formal programme of site-based talks, demonstrations and open days. The site-based talks and demonstrations will cover a range of important heritage skills including masonry, archaeological recording and conservation. A realistic target for the duration of the project work will be for one site-based talk (probably in association with the local History Society), two demonstrations (one for the work on the memorials and one for the tombs), and one open day. The aim will be to attract up to 50 for the talk, 15-20 for each of the demonstrations and 100 for the open day. We may decide to incorporate the open day with our 2010 Village Gardens Open event which would provide a potential audience of 500 over 2 days. There will also be specialist sessions linked to the Marshfield School project. Once the work is complete, we will discuss with the Conservators the most effective way of using the preserved heritage to provide continuing opportunities for training and learning.