Celebrated architectural photographer, Andy Marshall, is offering his support for our church roof repair bid to the Church Care Roof Repair Fund. Andy invited me over to discuss the project and how he can help (and to admire his cat).
A former roofer, Andy enthused about the church roof. It is the finest Victorian vernacular stone roof in the North-West of England and probably the last of any substantial size as the nation moved to standardized Welsh slate and tile. Graduated stone roofs, like at the church, use diminishing courses. Constructing them involves great skill and they are highly efficient in the use of stone – ever smaller pieces, which otherwise would be thrown away, are gradually introduced towards the ridge of the roof.
We also discussed how Long Street Church and School encompassed ten years of Edgar Wood’s architectural development and how the last part to be built, the 1902 abstract cubic sculpture over the gateway, announced his shift to modernism. We compared it to contemporary work in Vienna, like architect Josef Hoffmann’s 1902 square relief over an entrance at the 14th Vienna Secession Exhibition . It is just one of the many stylistic connections between Wood and the Secession architects.
Andy will support us with a social media campaign and lend us a specialised time-lapse camera to record the roof repair.
David M.