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St Ethelburga's Church, London Internal Church Screen Prince Charles - Official Unveiling November 2002   Norman & Underwood’s Roofing & Stained Glass Division and Glazing Systems Division have been instrumental in restoring St Ethelburga’s - the famous Bishopsgate church ravaged by an IRA bomb nearly 10 years ago. The church, re-consecrated by the Bishop of London, also recently saw the unveiling by Prince Charles of a project designed to promote peace and reconciliation. St Ethleburga’s, one of the City of London’s oldest and smallest churches, withstood both the Great Fire of London and the Blitz but was destroyed by a terrorist bomb in April 1993. It was originally feared that the bomb damage was so severe that the church – founded in 1250 - would have to be pulled down. However, investigations by the church authorities, the City Corporation, English Heritage and the Museum of London Archaeology Service soon revealed that rebuilding was a feasible option. St Ethelburga's has now been renovated using material from the original church - including elements of the stonework, carpentry and stained glass that survived the blast. Stained glass and leaded light restoration is an important part of the Norman & Underwood business where our knowledge of antique coloured glasses and lead crafting brings windows like St Ethelburga’s back to their full glory. Our Roofing and Stained Glass Division were commissioned to install the leaded light windows to the west facing front elevation and carry out similar work to the large north window and to two smaller windows on the south aisle and south east elevation. The Glazing Systems Division , which originally secured this important restoration contract, has carried out glazing work to the church’s interior. Floor to ceiling structural glazing glass screens have been erected to cordon off the nave from the rest of the church. Thus creating a meeting room and office working areas. The screens were secured with specialised fixings to the head and the base and incorporate sliding glass and automatic doors opened by pressing a button. Following his consecration in 1996, The Bishop of London, the Rt Rev Richard Chartres, decided that the restored church should house a centre focusing on religion’s role in conflict and the part it can play in resolving war. To this end, a Charitable Trust chaired by the Bishop was founded in 1997, with an appeal launched the following year to raise the necessary funds. This appeal, which attracted the support of large organisations and individuals, secured £3.3 million to finance the church’s restoration and establish the centre. Several city livery companies, The Clothworkers’ company, the National Heritage Fund, the City of London Corporation and the Times newspaper were among the many organisations to donate money to the fund. Despite the severity of the bomb attack, seventy per cent of the main tower remained intact and the west front of the church facing on to Bishopsgate looks much as it did before. The north wall, however, like the cupola, is entirely new, with the wall destroyed by the bomb now replaced with new brickwork. Similarly, the stone mullion windows on both the east and west are new, as are offices above the aisle, which will accommodate the work of the centre. A striking feature of the rebuilt church is the new east window, which manages to simultaneously capture both the building’s past and its hopes for the future. Incorporating fragments from the former east window that dated back to 1878, it depicts St Ethelburga, the church’s patron saint, who has gathered up the fragments. It also bears the text ‘Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem.’ Norman & Underwood surveyor Michelle de Bank said that St Ethelburga’s poignant history made this particular restoration project both interesting and rewarding. She added: “There was great historical value for the Norman & Underwood team in working on such a high profile project.” view article in word format   back to top back to major contracts   11-27 Freeschool Lane, Leicester LE1 4FX, England tel: 0116 251 5000 fax: 0116 253 2669 e-mail: [email protected]