Hidden history unearthed in £800k renovation of 11th century Cookham church

Major renovations at an 11th century Cookham church are almost complete – with expectations that it will be open by at least early June - and the process has unearthed some unexpected pieces of history.

For the past five years, work has been ongoing to make some ‘much needed’ renovations to Holy Trinity Church in Cookham, a grade II* listed building.

The Holy Trinity team had to work hard to raise money for the project, as well as navigating getting permission from the Diocese of Oxford.

Within the Church of England, the diocese for each area holds responsibility to ensure any works on C of E property are appropriate and in keeping with the character of the church.

Since Holy Trinity Church is grade II* listed, this adds constraints on what can be done – and has presented some challenges, said church warden Mark Stockdale.

“It’s always going to be a balance between maintain historic fabric and the needs of the 21st century – and the needs in each century will always be different,” said Mark.

Work complete, work to do

The brunt of the work has been the installation of underfloor heating.

The heating system ‘broke down irrevocably’ in 2018 and Holy Trinity has been ‘soldering on’ as best it could using a ‘totally inadequate’ portable heater to blow hot air around the church.

Being a high building, this is not an effective way to heat the church, since it will simply rise 30 feet up into the roof space.

As well as leaving the church ‘bitterly cold’ in winter, this heating issue creates problems with rising damp, which can cause mould, decay, and structural damage.

Medieval churches have little in the way of insulation and no damp course (a barrier built into the walls to stop ground moisture from rising up) – a key part of modern building construction.

Holy Trinity intends to leave the underfloor heating on for at least six months to help tackle the damp.

Another notable change is the seating switching from pews to chairs, making the church ‘look quite different’.

The pews, dating back to 1861, ‘weren’t very good quality’ and some were falling apart.

New freestanding chairs offer the flexibility to adapt the space for other events, particularly concerts, said Mark.

Removed pews went to ‘good homes’ – included those of local people who wanted to keep hold of a piece of Cookham’s history.

A couple of them have also been kept at the church’s parish centre.

The pews were on wooden platforms which have been replaced with limestone to help create the level floor needed for the heating.

The limestone is cream coloured, matching existing flooring in the east end and making the church look ‘much brighter’.

“The whole church now looks more of a whole,” said Mark.

Happily, the characteristic Victorian red and black chequerboard walkways have been kept.

Kingerlee is the main contractor for the works, which involves some vital plumbing yet to be completed.

An accessible toilet has been installed in the tower but still needs to be connected to the sewer.

It connects through the churchyard, which is a conservation area, complicating matters. Works need to minimise damage to tree roots and to burials, which are not mapped.

Hidden discoveries

Renovations were originally expected to be complete by March this year but were delayed due to discoveries found during works.

Contractors came across Victorian brick vaults under the pews, which the church did not know about.

“Before the 1861 restoration, there were burials under the floor of the church in a random layout. It looks like our Victorian forbears’ families tidied them up by putting them in vaults,” said Mark.

Since the floor under the pews had to be levelled off for the underfloor heating, the tops of the vaults had to be removed ‘sensitively’ with the support of an archaeologist, and the vaults covered again with modern materials to protect the burials.

These historical elements and were ‘thoroughly documented through extensive photographs’ which are available to see at the church’s parish office.

Because of the delays, there is no date yet for first service back in church, though there is expected to be a big reordering service on June 8 (celebrating the completion of building works that have ‘reordered’ the church’s interior), led by the archdeacon.

In the meantime, church services have been held at Holy Trinity C of E Primary School which has ‘strengthened the links’ between the two.

In addition, the more music-focussed evening services are being held at the nearby St John the Baptist Church.

“People up there have really enjoyed having evening services because they don’t usually have one,” said Mark.

The whole renovation project has cost about £800,000, with money raised from a combination of local donors and grant funding organisations.

Holy Trinity is now working to build back up its reserves. If you wish to make a donation to the church, you can do so at: www.parishgiving.org.uk/donors/find-your-parish/cookham-holy-trinity-maidenhead