Restoration Milestone for Sheerness Dockyard Church
Extensive clock tower repairs and a new roof are now complete at the Grade II* listed building.
From roofless ruin to a beautifully restored landmark
A major milestone has been reached in the rescue, repair and transformation of the derelict former Dockyard Church at Sheerness.
Repairs to the monumental clock tower, which is on the Heritage at Risk Register, have been completed and the roof reinstated by Sheerness Dockyard Preservation Trust.
Work began in November 2020 on the £8 million project to repair the building and transform it from a roofless ruin to a beautifully restored Sheppey landmark.
The project has been made possible thanks to a £4.2million grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund and has also benefited from £250,000 from the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund via Historic England, and a further £168,000 tower repair grant from Historic England.
The rescue and repair of the damaged tower has been one of the highlights of the conservation work. The entire structure, which was found to be unstable, was dismantled, with every stone and brick sorted and labelled before reconstruction.
It is now visible again from miles around distinguished by its four painted clock faces, gilded weathervane and 1828 stone balustrade.
This is an incredibly exciting moment in this unique restoration project. After lying roofless and neglected for 20 years, this beautiful Grade II* building has now regained its splendour and pride. The tower, lovingly repaired, commands the Sheppey skyline once more and the roof, destroyed by fire in 2001, has been faithfully restored to its 1828 design.
The complex roof structure, which follows the shape of the Georgian original, now includes four circular roof lights to illuminate the full-height space inside. The roof trusses span 18m wall to wall and weigh 3.5 tonnes each.
The trusses are supported entirely by the walls, spanning the full width of the building without putting any weight on the repaired decorative iron columns on which they appear to sit.
Whilst the shell of the building has been meticulously repaired, the interior will be a more contemporary version of the space that was lost in a devasting fire 20 years ago.
When complete, the building will house an enterprise hub for young people, a display of the famous Dockyard Model - one of the finest and largest architectural models ever made - and a café for visitors.
Works are due for completion at the end of 2022. It is hoped the building will be fully open by April 2023.
