An update on the roof at Cuckfield's Holy Trinity Church

By Brian Cutler

The refurbishment of the external stonework of Holy Trinity Church in Cuckfield is being undertaken by DBR London under the direction of our inspecting Architect, Jonathan Cerowski. The extensive damage to the masonry is primarily the result of weathering, exacerbated by the use of hard cement pointing in the middle of the last century. The majority of the work has involved cleaning the stone, removing loose debris (defrassing, re pointing and repairing or replacing stone as necessary). Work is also underway to prepare new coping stones to replace the most severely damaged stones on the battlements at the top of the tower.

Work on the project started in mid July 2021 and is expected to last until the end of the year. Extensive scaffolding has been erected at both the east and west ends of the building to enable access. In some areas, the stone is not as damaged as had been feared while in others it is worse, and a more extensive repair will be necessary. Inevitably there have been some surprises. A rotting roof rafter hidden by facing stone at the east end and the building of a Victorian buttress to the tower built against a pattress plate that has now corroded and damaged the stone of the buttress.

Helping those in need at Christmas…

By Rev Michael Maine, Holy Trinity Church, Cuckfield

Holy Trinity School, Cuckfield

There are over thirty families living with food poverty at our church school and the number is growing. Family Support Work has provided an initial van-load of goods and suggest that we support the school directly, providing both fresh produce and non-perishable goods. It would be very helpful if goods could be delivered to Jane Coan (01444 617158), although she is happy to collect from those who may find this difficult. Goods may also be left in the church tower. Holy Trinity is open daily.

Jane will be delivering fresh produce on Monday or Tuesday afternoons during term-time. Items could include fruit, vegetables, cheese, eggs, yoghurt, ham & bread (with a reasonable shelf-life). Please phone Jane regarding fresh goods. Do not leave in the tower.

Non-perishable food could include tins of baked beans, soup, tuna, sweetcorn, fruit and meat. Also pasta, pasta sauces, rice, dried potato, long-life milk, fruit juice, breakfast cereal, peanut butter, marmite, and jam. Please support this need in our midst, as I know you do in so many other deserving causes.

Fresh goods until 10th December, other goods until 18th December, then collections resuming in the New Year.

...and The Bewbush Academy, Crawley

We have also been supporting The Bewbush Academy throughout the summer, and would like to continue helping those in the most deprived area in West Sussex. Our link for The Bewbush Academy is Rebecca Anderson. Please deliver breakfast and other meal options (non-perishable) to 8 Leyton Lea, Cuckfield and she will take these goods to the school. Rebecca says: “Your £10 or tin of meatballs can make all the difference to a family with an empty cupboard.”

The list of non-perishable foods above may be used for either appeal. Please, let’s make a real difference in these hard times.

Calling artists of all kinds

The team at Holy Trinity Church are planning a virtual arts festival to help bring together the community. It’s the brainchild of Hilary Turner-King and Helen Swift, who are family ministers at the church. “We were originally planning to hold an Arts Festival in the church and the Old School over a weekend,” Hilary explained. “There’s so much creativity in Cuckfield and we thought it would be a great way for people to come together, showcase their work and see the work of others. However we soon realised that wasn’t going to be possible but we still wanted it to go ahead in some form.” The orgnisers are appealing for creators of art, photography, floral and digital displays, sculpture, textiles and poetry to share their original works with them, in photographic form, to inspirefm@ holytrinitycuckfield.org. The gallery is very much open for contributions from children too. The plan is that work will be displayed online at the church’s website between 8th-22nd August. There are even hopes for a poetry reading evening via Zoom. For more information see: www.holytrinitycuckfield.org