St. John’s Church
St John’s Church in St Peter Port was built in 1838 to serve the poorer parishioners of the town. Although its clock was added later, in 1915 by E.W. Bachmann & Co., it remains one of the island’s most original weight-driven mechanisms. By 2020, the tower and clock were showing signs of serious deterioration, and CCD was appointed by the Rector and Churchwardens to lead the repair and conservation work.
- Category: heritage
- Awards: 2019 Guernsey Construction Awards - Best Small Project
The square-planned tower is crowned with four finials and conceals a lead flat roof behind the parapet. Long-term water ingress through this roof, combined with dense granite masonry that had been pointed in cement, caused structural damage to the internal timbers and affected the finishes within the porch. The project therefore involved renewing the lead flat roof, re-pointing the tower using lime mortar, repairing the decayed timber structure and conserving the clock face. Associated works included a new lightning conductor, service upgrades, fire alarm improvements and internal re-plastering and redecoration of the porch.
Work was programmed to start in early 2020 but the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns caused unavoidable delays. Mid-project, in August 2020, dry rot was discovered beneath the organ, prompting an immediate redirection of funds to tackle the urgent repair before tower works could resume.
As St John’s receives no funding from parish rates, the entire cost relied on the Trustees, congregation and wider community. An extensive fundraising effort enabled both the dry rot repairs and completion of the tower and clock works.
