Restoration of the Coat of Arms

A report on the restoration of the Coat of Arms in Wereham church

The Clock and Bell plus the floodlighting to the church tower have been complete for some months now and the Committee hope you will agree that they sound and look splendid.

As well as the generosity of the villagers who contributed so willingly to the restoration of the clock and bell, many organisations were also instrumental in helping to raise the money required. Once all the invoices were paid we found that we had a small amount of extra money in the bank account. The Committee decided to use this money to restore the Coat of Arms which hangs over the door into the main aisle of the church.

We obtained a Faculty, selected a very reputable conservator to carry out the work and took it to her studio in Houghton. Tom, Phil and I went to visit the workshop to see how things were progressing and were taken aback by how fantastic it is starting to look. It now turns out that the Coat of Arms is a lot older than the conservator at first thought and dates back to pre 1714. She believes it to be one of only 30 of its kind and age in the country, so well worth having it restored.

All being well the Coat of Arms should be re-hung in the church by early Autumn and we hope you will take the time to have a look at what we think is a very handsome piece of artwork.

On behalf of the Clock and Bell Committee I would like to say a final thank you to you all for your generosity and support throughout this worthwhile project.

Patricia Evans