All Saints' Ceiling Fundraiser

Pledge a Panel - Ceiling Fundraiser for All Saints, Kenley (Autumn 2017) 

In the summer All Saints suffered several falls of lime plaster from various parts of the ceiling. Emergency repairs were carried out at the time, but now we have been told by the architect and the Diocese that we must repair the whole ceiling. The cost of doing this will be of the order of £90,000!

The ceiling is 140 years old and is of a lath and plaster construction. Currently we can find no explanation for the falls, apart from it being old lime plaster which has dried out and become fragile. To restore it completely in its original form would have involved removing the entire roof, which would have been even more expensive! As it is, the architect has agreed to the pragmatic approach of covering the existing panels with plasterboard which can then be painted sympathetically. This is how the emergency repairs were carried out and the result is really good.

The plan is to do the work in three sections - the south aisle, the north aisle and finally the high central ceiling, which is the most expensive section because of the height involved. If we can get the necessary permission from the Diocese, we hope to get the side aisles repaired in time for Christmas, since currently we are forbidden to use them by the insurance company as they have suffered the most recent damage. Obviously, there will be some disruption and we may have to move services into the hall, however, we will do our best to keep the disruption to a minimum.

Now to the funding of the project...

Obviously, we will try to obtain grants - especially for the high ceiling - but before we can do that we have to prove that we can raise some money ourselves. Hence, we have launched our ‘Pledge a Panel’ campaign! We have divided the total cost of £90,000 by the number of panels in the ceiling. The larger panels of the high ceiling we have counted as the same as two of the standard panels. The result is that a standard panel will cost £250 to replace (including labour, materials and scaffolding) and the large panels will be £500. 

We are asking people to consider pledging money in any way they can - as individuals, groups, streets, companies or whatever . Any amount will be very gratefully received - every little will help!! We would also encourage anyone who is a taxpayer to Gift Aid their contribution. There is a diagram at the front of the church showing the progress we are making.

We launched the appeal at our ‘Some Enchanted Evening’ event on 30th September,where we raised £1,000 and currently, (at at mid-October 2017), the total stands at just under £10,000, which is amazing!! We hope that, with your help and prayers, we can now keep the fund growing and complete the work as soon as possible.

Janet Shaw (All Saints Warden) will be happy to answer any questions about the project and supply Gift Aid forms. Any donations should be sent to Russell Priestley (All Saints Treasurer).

The Parish Office can be contacted on 020 8660 3251 / email