When St Wilfrid's Church was built in 1120 the flooring was simply flattened earth, probably spread with rushes from the river Mersey or nearby ponds. From time to time the old rushes would be brushed out, and fresh ones laid for people to walk and stand on. This simple arrangement was what was expected in humble places of worship throughout the middle ages. Well-funded monasteries and priories like the nearby Norton Priory crafted beautifully coloured tiles in their own workshops. Norton Priory today exhibits some great examples of tiling.
In 1874 St Wilfrid's had a major upgrade. A wooden framework was erected across the whole floor area to create a platform about a foot above the beaten earth. Over much of the Nave pine floorboards were laid across the framework, and 3 tiled aisles were created running east to west. The area from the south porch to the north door was tiled with simple tiles, whilst by the choir stalls and around the altar, were tiled with more elaborate two colour tiles, similar to those found at Norton Priory. Probably around 50 years later the aisles in the nave and through the centre of the choir stalls were carpeted.
But in 2025 the aisle carpet seemed to be quite undulating. Children could see their toy cars moving up and down as they rolled them along the aisles. When we took up the carpet to investigate, we were shocked to see that the limestone cement, that had been used about 150 years ago to support the tiles, had crumbled and cracked. Many of the tiles simply lifted off. Gaping holes could be seen into the void below the beams of the wooden framework. We carefully examined the tiled areas throughout the church, finding cracked and uneven patches in a number of areas. We took advice from our Church Architect, who told us it was not unusual for this type of subfloor cement to fail. He had checked in his routine 2020 regular 5 year inspection, and it had not been too bad, but urgent action is recommended now.
We applied for financial support to the National Churches Trust who generously offered us a £3,000 grant with a further £6,000 from the Wolfson Foundation. They were aware of the excellent care of our church taken, particularly by our Churchwarden team backed by our Treasurer, and also by our many volunteers. We have been Finalists for 2 years running for the Naylor Award for Excellence in Church Maintenance. St Wilfrid's will need to match the grant funding, but the work can be done. It has to be done.
Our Project team are delighted to have completed the bulk of the most urgent work in good time before our busy Christmas programme of events.
You can enjoy Saturday’s Christmas Fair with the special opportunity to visit the Tower, accompanied by a member of our award-winning bell ringers. Our 10 heavy brass bells could be quite dangerous if handled by someone who is not trained in handling them safely, so a trained guide is essential. Did you know that our oldest bell is 325 years old? Very few churches have a full peel of 10 active bells.
Do please be careful when you get back to ground level. Some of the tiling by the font and west door has become uneven, so please watch your step. That will be the next flooring area to get the stabilisation treatment in the new year.
When you come to the Children’s Hospice Christmas Singalong with our Community Choir on 9/12/2025 and/or the Lymm Concert Band concert on 18/12/2025 or any of our many special Advent and Christmas services, you can walk confidently across the newly renovated underfloor and tiling at the South Porch entrance; the area across the front of the font; all the way along the north and middle aisles and even round by the Vestry. The careful work by our flooring team has greatly reduced the risk that you could find yourself abruptly “Walking in the Air”.
We very are grateful for the grants offered to us by National Churches Trust and the Wolfson Foundation to help with this vital floor stabilisation. So, do please enjoy participating in our exciting tombola, Reindeer “selfies”, singing, fabulous crafts and cake at the Christmas Fair as we at St Wilfrid’s need to match their funding.
Additionally, if you would like to donate directly to support this very necessary maintenance you can do so by clicking here, using the contactless card reader in Church, or by Bank Transfer.
Thank you to National Churches Trust and to the Wolfson Foundation for your very timely help with this urgent problem.
