Friends of St Andrew's
The Parish Church of St Andrew, Stratton, Cornwall
Our Mission: to help preserve and maintain the building and churchyard for future generations
FoStA’s Mission
The sole purpose of FoStA is to raise funds to help preserve, maintain and improve the fabric of this historic building of St Andrew’s and its ancient graveyard – as the cost of doing so becomes an increasingly heavier burden on the regular congregation.
Every five years the church and churchyard are inspected by the Diocesan architect and he gives the Parochial Church Council (PCC) a detailed report of his findings. This is known as the Quinquennial Report.
He advises on what needs to be undertaken and whether or not the work is of an urgent nature – ie to be done within a year – or if it can be safely left to a later date. However, the work must still be undertaken before the end of the quinquennium (five year period).
This report, and its recommendations, are what mainly drive the PCC, through the Fabric Committee, to undertake ‘projects’ to carry out the necessary rectifications. In addition to the work identified by the Quinquennial Report, unforeseen and emergency situations occur (e.g. storm damage causing the loss of roof slates or damage to trees in the churchyard) and on some occasions improvements are made at the suggestion or request of members of the church family and Priest in Charge.
In certain situations the PCC will ask if FoStA can help finance some or all of the work.
All requests from the PCC for help are very carefully considered by the FoStA committee before committing to any grant.
|
Action/location |
Detail |
Contribution from FoStA |
Completed |
|
Churchyard |
Renovation of Calvary Cross by M T Collins |
£1088.00 |
February 2024 |
|
Churchyard |
Donation to Churchyard Fund |
£1000.00 |
December 2023 |
|
Printing |
Re- |
£195.00 |
September 2023 |
|
Church Interior |
Additional lighting to rear of church by Webb Electrical |
£592.92 |
September 2023 |
|
Tower |
Further grant for flagpole repairs |
£824.00 |
June 2023 |
|
Tower |
Flagpole repairs by Western Lightning Ltd |
£1000.00 |
May 2023 |
|
Churchyard |
Shrubs and Compost |
£93.46 |
April 2023 |
|
Churchyard |
Wall repairs near Diddies Road gate by Vanstone Builders |
£4914.00 |
September 2022 |
|
Churchyard |
Sanctuary Lane wall repairs and strengthening by Langleaves Tree Surgery and Landscaping |
£4500.00 |
April 2022 |
|
Churchyard |
7 Griselinia hedging plants and 2 bags of compost |
£80.91 |
December 2022 |
|
Chancel roof |
Repairs by Able Roofing Services |
£10000.00 |
March 2022 |
|
Church interior |
New oak notice boards and pamphlet holder by M T Collins |
£1279.00 |
January 2022 |
|
Churchyard |
8 bags of peat- |
£47.92 |
November 2021 |
|
Churchyard |
Hawthorn hedging from Buckingham’s Nursery |
£152.95 |
November 2021 |
|
Kitchen |
Kitchen items including plate warmer and serving dishes |
£106.00 |
October 2021 |
|
Kitchen |
Purchase of Kitchen fire blanket and signage |
£235.50 |
October 2021 |
|
Church interior |
New wireless Microphone system, Kernow Installations Ltd. |
£723.00 |
May 2021 |
|
Churchyard upkeep |
Treework, stump removal etc. Langleaves Ltd. |
£1920.00 |
September 2021 |
|
Kitchen |
Kitchen build and installation of all units, equipment, finishes & services |
£12733.80 |
August 2020 |
|
Lychgate refurbishment |
Repairs & refurbishment undertaken by Mervyn Collins. |
£430.00 |
March 2020 |
|
General churchyard maintenance |
Routine churchyard maintenance and tree surgery |
Grant £1,000.00 |
October 2018 ongoing |
|
General churchyard maintenance |
Grass cutting, path clearing etc |
Grant £500.00 |
January 2018 |
|
Interior Floor Tiles |
Floor tiling made good in the nave and other internal areas |
Grant £502.00 |
May 2017 |
|
New Churchyard Path |
Path renewed from Lych Gate to West Door and at the junction to the south. Contractor: Michael Vanstone |
Grant £6720.00 |
April 2017 |
|
Internal Lighting |
Enhanced Lighting in the Nave and Side Aisles was installed by Holdcroft Electrical |
Grant £792.60 |
December 2016 |
|
Internal Decorating |
Areas that required ‘finishing off’ were completed by the firm of L. Wellington |
Grant £148.00 |
May 2016 |
|
External re- |
NorthWest corner of the church was re- |
£3965.35 |
May 2016 |
|
New Church Guide Book |
Guide reviewed and reprinted after preparation of artwork and editing |
£410.00 |
March 2016 |
|
New Diocesan Flag |
Purchase of a new St George’s Flag incorporating the Diocesan Coat of Arms plus a new Halyard. (Specific Donation from FoSTA Member) |
£267.60 |
March 2016 |
|
Repairs to the North Aisle & Chancel Guttering and Internal Decoration (Plastering and Lime Wash) |
Complete replacement of the rainwater goods with stainless steel gutters and brackets by Hiax Ltd. Decorating of the north, west and south walls of the church and the Upper Room by L J Wellington |
Grant from FoStA for £4,100.37 towards the total cost of £12,016.21 |
September to December 2015 |
|
Lych Gate |
Repairs to roof ridge, slates and lime plaster by Denner and Parnell |
Grant from FoStA for the total cost of £169.20 |
June 2015 |
|
Churchyard Tree Surgery |
Roadside bush trimming undertaken by Sharp Edge Tree Surgery |
Grant from FoStA for the total cost of £80 |
January 2015 |
|
New Floodlights at West End of Church |
Installed by Holdcroft Electrical and Lighing |
Grant from FoStA for the total cost of £297.55 |
October 2014 |
|
Portable Tabletops |
Portable table tops for back pews made |
Grant from FoStA for the total cost of £24 |
May 2014 |
|
Solar Powered Lights |
Installed along the Diddies Road Churchyard path |
Grant from FoStA of £40 towards the total cost of £49.82 |
February 2014 |
|
Renewal of Lighting Cable |
Renewal and associated remedial work carried out by Holdcroft Electrical and Lighting |
Grant from FoStA for the total cost of £2,877.05 |
February 2014 |
|
Floodlight |
New bulb required and Dawn to Dusk Sensor fitted |
Grant from FoStA for the total cost of £64.80 |
September 2013 |
|
Repairs to Frontal and Superfrontal |
The Ancient Festival Frontal and Superfrontal has been repaired and restored by Mrs Susan Rescorla, a lady who was recommended by the Diocesan Advisory Committee who kindly carried out the work without charge for her services, with FoStA reimbursing her expenses |
The cost of materials was £100 - |
Autumn 2012 |
|
South wall refurbishment |
The external mortar on this wall, from the Tower to the Priest’s door, from ground to window sill level, has been removed and replaced with the correct lime mortar as recommended by the church architect. At the same time new stainless steel fastenings were installed for three wall mounted monuments. This work was undertaken by the firm Hiax from Bideford |
The cost was £6,766.80p (incl. VAT) and FoStA has made a grant to the PCC for the total cost. |
August 2012 |
|
Tower and church roof |
Pointing and crack repairs to Merlons around the top of the Tower and pointing to the fillet above the lead over the stair turret. Repairs to slipped slates and fixing loose ridge tiles on main church roof. Total cost (including VAT) was £1308 |
The total cost was met by a grant to the PCC from FoStA |
April 2012 |
|
Work on storm damaged and unsafe tree in Churchyard |
Following a storm in December 2011, a large branch of a Horse Chestnut tree (near the east end of the Church) broke away and landed in a garden neighbouring Churchyard. The tree is subject to a Tree Preservation Order so permission of Cornwall Council was required based on advice from the County Forrester to pollard the whole tree to 4 metres height - |
Grant by FoStA to the PCC of £330 |
Work carried out - |
|
Tower - |
The Clock kept stopping as the hands jammed due to a loose support. A new steel rod support was installed. At the same time, the slate louves of the bell chamber windows were inspected and found to be safe. |
Grant from FoStA of £564 |
November 2011 |
|
Water tap in churchyard |
The extension of the churchyard 20 years ago resulted in many graves being at least 100 yards from the nearest tap. After encouragement of a FoStA member, it was decided to extend the underground water supply to the north end of the central dividing wall and install a further tap for the use of people placing flowers on graves. FoStA received a donation to cover the cost of this project - |
Paid for by a donation to FoStA specifically for this project |
Spring 2011 |
|
Repair to Stone Cross |
Parts of the stone cross on the roof apex broke off - |
Paid for with a grant of £548 |
End 2010 |
|
Redecoration (with limewash) |
Redecoration of the Sanctuary, Lady Chapel and St Andrew’s Chapel. (Limewash was essential because of the age and construction of the building.) |
FoStA made a grant of £3321 |
Spring 2010 |
|
Church lighting project |
New fittings and energy saving lighting being installed due to obsolete lamps and worn out fittings. |
Grants were made by FoStA of £3,098 towards the total cost of £10,792 |
Spring 2010 |
|
Tower floodlighting |
To replace damaged and dangerous floodlight |
A grant of £185 was made |
December 2008 |
East Window Restoration: important update, October 2024
In October 2023 the PCC asked Holy Well Glass to carry out a further inspection of the window. Their report advised that the church should plan for conservation work to be carried out in the next 5 years. The estimated cost of restoration is over £50,000.
The PCC has decided to proceed with the recommended conservation work. A faculty for this was granted by the diocese in March 2024.
However, it will not be possible to commence the work until a significant proportion of the funding is in place. With this in mind St Andrew’s will now begin a major fundraising campaign and also seek to apply for grants. The FoStA Committee has confirmed that it will be able to contribute.
The formal launch of the fundraising campaign will be at the end of October 2024. Donations may be given through the FoStA bank account, or Just Giving at (live link):
www.justgiving.com/page/st-
Please consider using Gift Aid if you are a taxpayer.
A new photograph of the East Window taken for the launch of the fundraising campaign by David Goodwin JP
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| Picture gallery |
| The FoStA Shop |
| Past FoStA Events |