Church of St Sannan at
Bedwellty, Caerphilly
Structural repairs
Despite suffering serious structural damage and failure of previous repairs, the roof of the church of St Sannan in South Wales was successfully replaced by A R Manley & Sons Ltd.
The roof itself
The church features an unusual layout with two 13th century naves separated by a stone arcade. While the north aisle still retains a medieval oak roof, the weight of the high collard roofs over the south nave had caused the walls to spread by almost a metre.
Further complications
The geometry was further complicated by the increasing divergence of the walls, causing the diameter of the timber arches to increase. With the overall length remaining constant, the height gradually reduces, offering the illusion that the roof has slowly settled over the centuries.
Where we came in
A R Manley was contracted to produce and install a series of primarily decorative elliptical arches in oak. Such was the complexity of the task, it took four months to source sufficient green oak of the correct curvature to fashion the elliptical sections.
For any of our specialist joinery works, call on 01952 770 278Address: Somerwood, Rodington, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, SY4 4RF