As part of the Heritage Lottery Fund project, extensive refurbishment is taking place at Escrick Church. This includes the cleaning, restoration and repair of all the monuments, walls, ceiling and windows, installation of new heating and lighting systems, installation of a Servery, ramped access to the building, the addition of a secondary glass and oak door, a mezzanine floor to the vestry and a new PA system. Wifi will also be available. This will mean that our wonderful Church and monuments will be preserved for future generations and that the building will be more accessible and comfortable for all to enjoy.
The building work started on 10th September 2018 and will be completed by early April 2019. The Church is closed to visitors throughout the period of the building work for Health and Safety reasons but we will post regular updates and photographs of progress.
To enable the ceiling, walls and windows to be cleaned the whole Church was filled with scaffolding. From the top level you could stand and touch the ceiling! By 1st March 2019 all the but the scaffolding in the Baptistrey had been removed, all the ceiling, windows and walls down to window ledge height had been cleaned, the new lighting was about ready to be commissioned, and there was heat coming through the new heating system. The pews were also back place and Church was once again starting to look like Church rather than a building site. Lady Caroline and our ‘Legless Knight’ had also been lifted ready to be cleaned and moved to their new positions. Preparation had also started for the new ramped access. Huge thank you to all the contractors and craftsman working on the project.
