Holy Trinity Kendal Parish Church
The Brief
Looking after one of Kendal’s oldest buildings, ongoing fabric repairs and planning for major work to the tower and roofs.
Holy Trinity, Kendal Parish Church, is one of Kendal’s oldest buildings and one of the widest parish churches in the country, with both inner and outer north and south aisles. The present church dates from the 13th century and has grown over many centuries through the addition of aisles, chapels and the tower.
The church is Grade I listed and is one of four major churches in the Diocese of Carlisle.
Mike Darwell has been the inspecting architect at Holy Trinity since 2020. Since then, John Coward Architects has carried out two quinquennial inspections, providing detailed reports on the building’s condition and identifying defects and repairs that need attention.
Key features
- Grade I listed parish church
- One of the widest parish churches in the country
- John Coward Architects, involved since 2020
- Two quinquennial inspections completed
- Complete repair of the south-west porch roof structure and lead covering
- Masonry and window glazing repairs
- Internal wall tablets stabilised
- Repairs to pinnacles at the east and west ends
- Localised repairs to lead roofs
- Ongoing planning for major future fabric repairs
Repairing and planning for a complex historic building
Our work has covered many different parts of the church. At the south-west porch, we completely replaced the roof structure, including the sarking boards and lead sheeting, and improved the guttering.
We have repaired the masonry and glazing and helped stabilise the wall tablets inside the church by installing new clips and other measures to keep them secure.
The pinnacles along the gables at the east end, and in places at the west end, have also needed attention. Over time, the masonry weathers and the bed joints become worn, leaving individual sections unstable. Depending on their condition, we have either carefully dismantled and rebuilt these sections or repaired them in place.
The lead roofs also need ongoing attention. The way some of the lead is laid makes it prone to splitting, so we have helped carry out localised patch repairs where problems have developed.
For each project, John Coward Architects details and specifies the repair work and obtains the necessary consents before work goes ahead.
We are also helping the PCC decide how best to approach larger repairs to the tower and Bellingham Chapel Roof Plans for this work are being developed alongside an application for National Lottery Heritage Fund support, to secure the long-term condition of some of the church’s most significant fabric.
Client feedback
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Kendal Parish Church have benefitted from the expertise of John Coward Architects for many years and enjoy the collaborative, timely and friendly way they work with us; their experience, knowledge and creativity ensure great results.
The Revd Canon Shanthi Peiris
Vicar