Centuries of rain and wind have eroded the fine, but exposed exterior surface of St. Peter's church. Rain from the roof of the tower, from the ancient gargoyles and from the roof of the vestry had penetrated the substance of the walls and had weakened the plaster so that it had fallen away. Exposed pieces of ironwork were rusted, as the picture of the west wall of the vestry shows on the left. The repaired and replastered wall is shown on the right.

If the only work involved had been replastering it would have been easy, but the sources of the water leaks needed precise identification and elimination.
The work was supervised by the Diocesan Architect together with the Architect from English Heritage and was carried out by specialised craftsmen.
As St. Peter's is a Grade I listed building stones had to be labelled before removal so that their exact position was known when they were replaced. Because of the antiquity of St. Peter's an archeologist had to be present and graves were disturbed half-buried under the wall. No treasure trove was found.

We realised that this would not be cheap and the PCC was given an initial estimate of £40.000 but investigative work revealed that we needed over £100,000 to enable us to complete this vital restoration. We were able to obtain considerable grant funds but the village made a substantial contribution.