St. Thomas’ Church in Wells restoration

60-second timelapse completes the story of 6 months of work

In February 2022, Storm Eunice caused widespread disruption and damage as 122mph winds battered the country.

St. Thomas’ Church in Wells, Somerset attracted international attention when the spire of the 18th Century church fell, captured in dramatic footage which spread across the world. You can watch the video which was shared by ITV News West Country on Facebook.

Thankfully no one was hurt and we were able to visit and make the area safe soon after. This is the story of how St Thomas' church spire was painstakingly restored and reinstalled following a six-month project costing thousands of pounds.

Sally Strachey Historic Conservation (SSHC) stonemasons based in Wells were appointed to work on the restoration of the spire which suffered significant damage as it fell from the church to the ground.

As soon as we were able, James Preston, Director at SSHC, headed to the top of the spire to make it safe while the restoration commenced.

Remember - important not to visit a church to repair any damage while the storm is in progress. If you have to go into a church or are in a church during a storm, make sure to enter and leave the building through doors on the sheltered side, closing them behind you.

The spire had to be pieced back together before a copy could be carved. This helped the team create an exact replica using traditional stone carving techniques.

The original weathervane was also damaged by the fall and this needed to be straightened and restored.

The new spire consists of separate pieces of stone with holes for metal rods to run through and hold the structure firmly together.

Stainless steel tie-down rods will improve the strength of the spire.

Between the spire and the weathervane there are more ornate pieces of stone which have been hand carved by James over four days.

Here is James Preston at work on the spire. James started his career as an apprentices stone mason for SSHC over 20 years ago.

He has won various competitions in the process and for the last 10 years, he has been a national stone masonry judge for CITB National SkillBuild competitions.

As a specialist insurer, we rely on skilled craftspeople who can sympathetically restore historic treasures.

We fund apprenticeships in crafts such as stone masonry so they never die out, ensuring we have continued support for heritage restoration projects.

Before and after - the old spire and the new standing next to each other.

You can see the scale of the two structures compared to Revd Claire Towns of St Thomas' Church.

Fixing the new spire atop the tower

The installation of the spire took five days to complete.

The heavy stones were individually lifted up by a crane/cherry picker and carefully positioned into place.

The whole project was completed within six months of the spire coming down and the church’s place in the skyline of Wells can once again be appreciated by the community and visitors to the city.

“As a specialist insurer with a history of over 135 years of care and expertise for our church customers, we are uniquely familiar with the pressures churches face.

“Like many other people, we saw the video clip of the spire coming down on the news and immediately got in touch with the church. Thankfully no one was injured and the damage was minimal. It could have been a lot worse.

“This is so often the moment of truth for customers and I’m delighted we’ve been able to work with contractors with the skills and knowledge to help restore St. Thomas’ Church to its former glory.”

Andrew Henner, Property Technical Claims Manager

Once completed, Revd Claire Towns of St Thomas' Church, Wells blessed the new spire.

"We’re now in August, six months since we lost the top of the spire. It’s going back up in the next few days. That is a wonderful thing physically, but also symbolically - the restored spire is a symbol of hope and of new life for the people of this parish and city.

“We are hugely thankful to all those who have offered us prayers, encouragement and support in the past few months, and of course, we are thankful to our insurer, Ecclesiastical, for making this possible and for the personal care and skill of all those involved in the spire works.”

Watch the blessing on the Diocese of Bath and Wells YouTube channel.

Protecting your church from stormy weather

The storm name announcement by the Met Office always generates a lot of interest and as an insurer, we are no different. We know the impact storms can have on our customers and this is a timely reminder for them to take steps to prepare for the winter.

Some steps customers can take include carrying out simple visual checks of the property to identify issues such as overgrown vegetation, loose roof materials, damaged guttering, or blocked rainwater gullies and allowing simple maintenance measures to be put in place.

Similarly, checking drains and gullies in the land surrounding your buildings, such as access roads and car parks, is key to identifying potential flooding risks ahead of any storm conditions. Signing up to receive the latest alerts from the Met Office or the Environment Agency can also help to prepare for the worst.

As ever, our expert risk teams are on hand to deal with any risk management queries customers may have – while our dedicated team of claims handlers will be able to support them if they are affected by storms this winter.

Read our article - Storm safety advice for churches