Fixing a Cheltenham Spire

In last year’s Annual Review, we illustrated the Leaning Spire of St Andrew’s United Reformed Church, Cheltenham.  The spire is a familiar sight for shoppers and visitors, near the Promenade and Montpellier. Work began in late 2024 on partial demolition and repair, not helped by rock-hard cement mortar, which led to more stone replacement than the architect had anticipated.

By the time our autumn talk took place at St Andrew’s, the scaffolding had started to come down, and the quality of the stonework repair could be seen.

Actually, back in September, our intrepid Vice-Chair attended the topping out … in a torrential rain shower!  Our photo shows the contractors and the parish officers bravely waving at the drone camera before beating a hasty retreat down the ladders.  Needless to say, the rain eased off as soon as the ‘drowned rats’ emerged at ground level.

On a much better autumn day, the drone went aloft again, and the completed – and straightened - spire can be seen above the remaining scaffolding.

The contractors and the church officers have done a brilliant job on this key conservation project, which is well organised and well executed.

We were very happy to help with a grant towards the work.