TREE-RING ANALYSIS OF TIMBERS FROM THE NAVE ROOF OF THE CHURCH OF ST MARY THE VIRGIN, BROMFIELD, SHROPSHIRE
Author(s): Nigel Nayling
The arch-braced collar trusses of the nave roof of this church are suffering from localised wet rot and the church has been categorised as a "priority B" building at risk (English Heritage 1999). A dendrochronological survey was requested, whilst access was possible via an internal scaffold constructed to prevent further collapse of the principal rafters, to inform a major programme of grant-aided repairs and to test whether the roof dates to AD 1577, as indicated by inscriptions carved on collars and timber corbels. The results of the survey indicate construction of the nave roof after AD 1559, with a single purlin dating to after AD 1599 and one principal rafter felled after AD 1646. The timbers which post-date AD 1577 may reflect documented repairs made to the church in the mid-seventeenth century following a fire and prior to the churches' reconsecration in AD 1658.
- Report Number:
- 69/2000
- Series:
- AML Reports (New Series)
- Pages:
- 14
- Keywords:
- Dendrochronology Standing Building
