Our APCM was held on Sunday 28 April, with many reports presented to the meeting. Here is the Wardens’ report for 2023:
In January
We began 2023 with the parish in interregnum and the added responsibility of caring for the empty vicarage. In addition to the regular inspections, the church wardens (mainly D.Mac) have allowed access to various workmen following the burst water main in the garage.
Plasterers attended to repair the ceiling of the garage. But it was still too wet and had to be completely removed.
Church life continued to be busy with all the usual services and activities taking place. Problems with the church boilers found 2 of the 3 required new fans and were turned off. The middle boiler was left on a frost setting of 14oC.
The boiler parts were ordered, and the service and repair of boilers booked for 3/2/23 at 1pm
In February
In early February the vicarage garage roof was checked and by the middle of the month it was possible to fit plasterboard and re-plaster the ceiling.
Plumber and Heating company attended the vicarage to restart water supply and check heating. Throughout the month the heating showed various faults, failed and needed to be re-started. It was decided that a new boiler was needed.
A new alarm system was fitted to the vicarage.
The church boilers were repaired and serviced as planned. The heating was checked. Everything OK
The organ blower and humidifier were serviced and tested. All OK. A new bypass shelf and float were fitted and tested. All OK
In March
Electrician replaced the vicarage garage strip lighting with LEDs.
M Callaghan(diocese) was given keys to the vicarage keys so that boiler could be accessed on 17/3/23. By the end of the month there was no evidence that anything had been done with boiler or heating.
During August 2022 Water bubbled from the ground near to where a branch had fallen, David contacted ‘leak line’ they said they would inspect when they were able and would repair if seen to be their responsibility. Still no action had been taken by the waterboard at the end of March.
In church one of the inner porch doors would not open fully, due to a fault on the door return restraint. The door was marked as out of order and the restraint removed (Roger Vant) in order to get a replacement and to allow access for a funeral on 22/3/23.
In April
The vicarage was cleared of all contents as requested by the Diocese. Some of the items which were removed were put on one side to be sold at the Plant sale in May, other items were displayed in church for the congregation to take with donations gratefully received.
The middle church boiler started to show a fault indicating that it also needed a new fan. This was planned to take place before the autumn.
We were informed that sadly St. Margaret’s pre-school would be closing in August.
In May
The heating and floodlights at St. M were turned off for the summer.
The architects informed us that the Quinquennial inspection was due for both churches.
Fr. Martin bequeathed to St. Margaret’s church the original painting of St. Margaret which was used to make the banner. It will need to be framed and a faculty obtained.
There was an enquiry from a pre-school, currently using St. Andrew Carr Clough, who wanted to rent the Church Houses from Mon to Fri between 9am and 3pm. They are called ‘Cherry Trees’ and are a committee led, non-profit
Pre-school like St Margaret’s. Providing affordable education in the community for the under-fives.
In June
The vicarage locks were changed we no longer have access to the building. Helen, the new curate moved in weekend of 24 June.
The door returns on the main doors in St. Margaret’s and the doorstops were replaced. Thanks to Roger Vant and David McConville.
Carol Knaggs and Judith Hall agreed to organise the framing of the painting of St. Margaret which was bequeathed by Fr. Martin.
The architects carried out the Quinquennial inspection for both churches. The reports were circulated along with Action Plans for both Churches.
As it had been decided not to pay the Parish share in full, some money would be used to undertake some of the points on the Action Plans. Aim to do at least the first 3 on each.
Joan Knott detailed what she had done in readiness for St. George’s in her report.
With regards to St. Margaret, Joan Knott kindly liaised with Shaun Paul (lightening conductor inspector) to ask if he would be prepared to do the annual maintenance of the roof, gullies and gutters, and give us a quote.
The ‘Cherry Trees’ pre-school confirmed that they wished to transfer to our Church House. OFSTED approval was required prior to this but would not take place until the Christmas term. Discussions are ongoing.
As ‘Cherry Trees’ would be in the Church House every day, it was decided that Rhyme Time would move to the upstairs room in the community Centre. This arrangement was acceptable to those involved.
A fault on the fire door in Church house made it difficult to fully lock the front door, presenting a security issue.
In July
The Church wardens handed over responsibility for care and maintenance of the vicarage to Helen the Curate.
Mono Alarms were contacted to see if they would check the Church alarm and service it, as it had been activated on 3 occasions with no obvious reason found. As we no longer have a service contract with them, they said they would send a ‘free of charge’ quote. No information or quote was received. There were no further problems, so we will look into getting the system replaced in due course.
Church flood. Following torrential rain on Sunday 18th June a significant amount of water was found in church. The main areas affected were the:
Meeting room. Where the water had come in down the glass partition, onto the desk and its contents before overflowing onto the carpet and saturating it. Items were moved to the opposite side of the room to dry.
Clergy vestry. Water had come in, to the right of the window, onto the robe cupboard and the desk. The carpet tiles were saturated causing items stored on the floor of the cupboard and also the bottom of the robes to become wet. The lights in both vestries were affected and disabled. The contents of the clergy vestry and robe cupboard were moved into the church to dry out. The carpet tiles were lifted and dehumidifiers, which needed to be emptied 3 times daily, were used for about 10 days. Apart from the lights there appeared to be no major damage done. The electrician was contacted.
Roof. . David accessed (assisted by Roger & Laurel) the 2 flat roofs and the south valley using ladders. The leaves and debris washed down by the storm were removed and the grids and downspouts were unblocked. David noticed that the lead flashings and the frames of the triangular windows in the Nave roof are in poor condition. The scaffolding is needed to get up to the North valley. Warren ( the groundsman)and his mate went onto the roof and cleared the North gully and downspouts. We felt that the roof must be prioritised and quotes were obtained for essential repairs.
Warren offered to maintain the gutters/gullies/downspouts on a regular basis with at least 2 definite dates (to be defined) each year. The cost would be £300/day to cover costs for 2 people working.
Another quote was obtained from Shaun Paul (care of Joan K).
The Organ Builder was contacted, as the organs at both churches are not sounding good.
The Church House boilers were serviced by G. Taylor.
The fire exit bar on the main door was straightened allowing it to be fully locked. This is only a temporary fix and the whole mechanism needs to be replaced.
Plans for the siting of a 5G mast on the corner of Carver Avenue, was rejected.
In August
There were no further leaks in Church. The architects were informed of the recent vestry flood and asked for advice about suitable contractors and any grants which might be available. The architect advised us of The National Churches Trust – new “Cherish Small Grants Programme”. The grants of between £500 and £10,000 are available to be spent on urgent repairs, maintenance or investigation works. The architects offered to help with the application and contractors.
Shaun Paul visited to inspect St. Margaret’s roof, provided a report and recommendations but said that the job is too large for his company to undertake.
In September
The organ is once again showed signs of water damage. The Choir section was affected and needed repairs. The Organ Builder serviced and tuned the sections which were working and prepared a report, with photos, and quote for repair to the Choir section. (£3825.00). The insurers were contacted.
All 4 vestry lights were replaced following the water damage and a PIR light was fixed outside the Choir vestry to provide light for locking and unlocking the door.
The Septic tank lid needs replacing. As this type of lid is no longer available. We are trying to source an alternative.
Concerns about Reinforced Concrete (RAAC) –were reported in the news. Luckily none of our buildings are affected.
There was an enquiry from the St. Margaret’s Tavern asking to use the St. Margaret’s gardens. It was explained that as the council maintains the gardens permission would need to be obtained from the council.
Besses Boys Band. Held a successful fund raiser for L.W.H. in St. Margaret’s. Chairs and furniture were moved, both before and after the concert. (DMac, RV, LA) interval refreshments were provided in the Church house. By Joan Evans
Following the concert, the trees to the NW of the church porch were lopped as they were obscuring the floodlights making the area dark at night.
In the Church house David and Roger used scaffolding to access high beams and windows to remove cobwebs, dust and generally clean the area.
The scaffolding was also used to clear the gutters and downspouts of leaves and debris.
Alan Southworth changed the lock on the storeroom in the Polefield Road Entrance. This will be for storage of confidential documents and important paperwork.
In October
Floodlights switched back on
Richard Alexander Brown attended to check Boiler 2 which needed the fan replacing. The new fan was ordered and fitted 4 weeks later. All boilers now have new fans The heating was switched on for the winter on October 22nd
The outside tap situated at the N.E. corner of church could not be turned off and the stop tap had seized up. A plumber (Ian Walvin) attended and fixed it the same afternoon.
Garry Lloyd of Lloyd and Smith Construction (recommended by Grimshaw Associates the architects) visited, along with a specialist roofer, a report was produced highlighting areas of immediate concern. This report was circulated and discussed with the PCC. A decision was made to apply for Grants and have the roof repaired.
Shaun Paul has inspected the lightening conductor. It’s ok. He also cleared the high-level gutters and downspouts.
Following the annual leaf fall and gales, Warren cleared the roof gullies and checked the drainpipes in those areas.
The insurance claim for the repair to the organ was successful and an application for List B approval was granted. The organ will be repaired in the New Year.
The piano in church was tuned by Phil Wood .
All the Church, Church House, and Community Centre extinguishers have been serviced by Hydra Fire (
In November
Representatives from The National Churches Trust – visited St Margaret’s and ‘Areas of concern’ were highlighted It was confirmed that £10,000 was the maximum they could give but that we could apply for other grants at the same time.
The bulbs in the lanterns outside church were replaced with LEDs.
Openreach connected new Broadband cable to replace the old copper telephone wire. The same access point was used. The router was set up and the Wi-Fi checked.
A new door handle was put on the main door of CH to replace the one which had been removed by an unknown person overnight.
Anglo Heating diagnosed and repaired a leak on one of the CH boilers.
The lights in the Community Centre were checked and those in the main hall were replaced. Those in the ladies’ toilet require an electrician.
The CH & CC cleaner left without notice. The Church house was cleaned by J Evans & S. Cauldwell and the Community Centre by D & G McConville for at least 3 weeks. At the end of the month a new cleaner was appointed
In December
Two old trees in the New Church yard were deemed unsafe by Ian Keiller and following high winds, a large branch fell from the large ash tree at the back of the church house. This was inspected and made safe. The large Horse chestnut and the Laburnum next to it located by the fence at the back of Polefield Road were felled and all debris removed. The money for this work came from the Church yard Fund.
Donations for the church roof came in steadily and by the end of the year we had raised £4000.
A ‘List B’ permission was granted for the repair of the Church roof. The application for a Grant from the Churches Trust was submitted on time (11 Dec) with all the necessary information and permissions.
The original quote for the roof was valid for 3 months and should have expired in January. However, after expressing our concern to the Architects ( we will not know if the Grant application has been successful until March) this deadline was extended until March 2024 with no extra costs incurred.
In addition to our regular services the Church building has been used throughout the year to host events such as Heritage Day, Plant sale with café, refreshment point for the 7 Churches walk, St. Margaret’s School services, visits from , , the Victorian society and the Manchester Organ society, and concerts from the Brixi singers, Besses Boys Band and Notability
Thank you to all for their continued help, allowing the Church to provide spiritual and pastoral support to our church family and the local community during an extremely busy and very challenging year.
L. Avery & D. McConville
St Margaret's Church Prestwich 