Bye Bye Bucket, Hello Scaffold

For several years, this black bucket sitting near the church clock bell has collected some of the rain dripping through the leaky roof of the church tower. This humble bucket can collect up to a gallon a month in the wet season  (Jan-Dec) from the drips under the flagpole. There are other holes elsewhere in the church where rain gets into the timbers and ceilings and so it is time get cracking on repairs and re-roofing. 

Next Monday, 19th March,  a team will arrive to scaffold the church tower to let our builders J G Mason and Son of Endmoor start on a major repair scheme which will also include the re-furbishment of all roof gutters and drainpipes. The aim is to get the church water tight for generations. The works will cost over £100,000 and can only be carried out by using a very generous legacy from David Lowery of Leeds who was an old boy of St Mark's Children's home and who cherished his memories of Natland. The Parochial Church Council is enormously grateful to have been remembered  by Mr Lowery in his will. The work is due to be finished by the first week of June, weather (!) permitting.

The eagle eyed will have seen that the clock hands are stuck at Noon (for owls, its stuck at Midnight). The clock has stopped working, perhaps in sympathy with its neighbour the bucket. This also will be repaired when the scaffolding is up. We are grateful for those who given donations to get the clock ticking again.