Overview Details Christ Church, Parracombe A Grade II Listed Parish Church designed by W. Oliver and built in 1878. Parracombe is located within a valley high on Exmoor in an area of high rainfall. The slate pitched roofs had been heavily patched over the years and although they had been well maintained they now required some major work to address the weaknesses that have been developing. The main areas of concern were the slate fixings and rainwater goods. Internally the wall finish was of one coat earth plaster with a thin lime top coat, this had been previously repaired in areas in cement and gypsum. It was originally painted with distemper - then later with contract emulsion. Continued damp penetration and condensation within the church on surfaces that are not vapour permeable caused the top gypsum, cement or lime finishing coat to delaminate from the backing coat and affected the surface decoration with salt blistering. This was particularly prevalent in the south west corner which receives the prevailing winds in this area. Within the north aisle, the bearing of eastern valley beam was rotted within the wall and the side of the beam and corbel bear the marks of dry rot ‘serpula lacrymans’ fruiting bodies and there was mycelium still on the stonework surface of the wall where the plaster was removed. Jonathan Rhind Architects worked alongside the PCC and helped with their grant applications to English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund. Following the successful grant application we prepared a detailed specification of repair with drawings and we oversaw the careful repair works ensuring they were carried out sensitively, safely and to a high quality. The project was completed on time and on budget. Client − PCC, Christ Church, Parracombe Status − Completed (2013) Contract Value − £135,000 Structural Engineer − StructuralEngineer Ecology − Richard Green Ecology Contractor − Hannam & Sons Quantity Surveyor − Alec Painter - Mildred Howells
