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St Mary the Virgin Horsham
Comprehensive Works
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Since 1247, St Mary the Virgin Parish Church, Horsham had stood at the heart of the town, its foundations laid while Horsham itself was still finding its form. By age alone, it remained the oldest surviving building in the town, a quiet witness to centuries of worship, weather, and change. Stone by stone, it had carried the life of the community through generations.
When DBR was invited to undertake conservation works here, the task was approached not simply as a project, but as a responsibility to a place deeply embedded in local memory.
Client
St Mary Virgin Horsham
Dates
July 2017
—
September 2017
Location
Horsham, England
Grade listing
Grade I
Fabric
Horsham Stone
Lead
Timber
Working Along the Roofline of History
The focus of the works lay high above the nave and aisles, where time and weather had left their clearest marks. Conservation interventions were carried out across the North aisle roof, South aisle roof, the Nave roof, eaves gutters, and within the internal roof structure itself, areas fundamental to the church’s protection and long-term survival.
Vegetation was carefully removed from the roof slopes, its roots having taken hold in joints and crevices over time. Herbicide treatments followed, applied with precision to prevent future bio-growth without harming the historic stone beneath.
Caring for Horsham Stone
The church’s distinctive Horsham stone, so closely tied to the identity of the building and the region was treated with particular care. Original stones were gently cleaned and repointed, their surfaces refreshed without erasing age or character. Where stones had suffered irreparable damage, carefully matched replacements were introduced, selected to sit seamlessly alongside the original fabric.
Repointing continued along all ridge lines and defective masonry joints, restoring cohesion and ensuring water was directed away rather than drawn in.
Strengthening What Could Not Be Seen
Beyond the visible surfaces, attention turned to the structure itself. Defective timbers within the roof were repaired or replaced as required, reinforcing the skeleton that had supported the church for centuries.
Broken Welsh slates were repaired and secured with new lead fixings, while existing lead flashings worn by time, were carefully removed and replaced. Each intervention was designed to improve performance while remaining faithful to traditional materials and techniques.
A Building Settled Once More
When the works were complete, St Mary’s had not been altered in appearance so much as reassured in its purpose. Roofs shed water as intended, stonework breathed again, and the structure beneath was strengthened for years to come.
At Horsham’s oldest building, DBR’s work allowed history to continue quietly overhead, protecting a church that had already stood for nearly eight centuries, and ensuring it remained part of the town’s future as well as its past.
