The Tower and Spire
There has been confusion about the date of the tower and spire. Cox's Churches of Derbyshire (1877) records that in 1710 a visitor, Bassano, a resident of Derby, noted a scroll of lead which recorded that the tower and spire were completed in 1340. Bassano's note referred explicitly to "the prior's church", but Cox believed that this must have been a mistake. (The priory church was demolished by Gilbert Thacker in the reign of Queen Mary to ensure, so it was said, that the priory would not be refounded.) Taylor believed that the developed perpendicular style of the windows and plinth of St Wystan's Church tower point to a date in the 15th century. Nevertheless, it seems increasingly possible that Cox may have been right. If so, details of the plinths, buttresses and windows suggest that, though built in the early 14th century, the tower was modified in the 15th.
The slender spire rises to 212 feet. The belfry has a vaulted roof, which has been pierced to allow the bells to be rung from the floor level. The earliest bell in the bell tower was cast by Richard Brasyer of Norwich, who died in 1513.
The oak screen in the base of the tower was built in 1973 as part of the partition surrounding the organ pipes that stood briefly at the west end of the north aisle. It incorporates panels from mediaeval pews saved in the 1792 alterations, some of them carved with the arms of families connected with Repton.
Repairs
"The earliest mention of (the spire) being repaired is in 'Churchwardens and Constables accounts', under the year 1609, where there is the following entry:- 'It. Payde fore poyntinge the steeple £5.' Bigsby refers to this, and adds that 'the whites of a large quantity of eggs were mixed with the mortar. The eggs were collected by a poor widow of the parish.'
"In the year 1721 (now thought to be 1720), it was struck by lightning, and was rebuilt by John Platts and Ralph Tunnicliff, of Ashbourne, at a cost of £67. In 1784 the upper part was again injured by lightning, and rebuilt by Mr Thompson, of Lichfield, and cost £60.
"In the year 1804, Joseph Barton, a native of Repton, fixed a series of twelve ladders to the south eastern facet of the spire, mounted to the weathercock, and brought it down. Adorned with streamers of ribbon, it was carried round the village, then repaired and replaced. Barton received £10, plus a goodly collection made among an admiring crowd of villagers, and others. Sad to relate, a few years later, he met with his death whilst repairing the spire of Twyford Church; the scaffold gave way, he fell to the earth and was picked up dead.
(In 1783 the spire was also hit by lightning.)
"During the years 1857-8 the spire was again repaired, a new weathercock was placed on it, and to guard against lightning a conductor was fixed to the north-western facet.
"For some time past now a crack has been observed on the eastern facet of the spire, three or four courses from the top. On Friday, the 17th March, Robert Holmes and Thomas Bignall, steeplejacks in the employ of Mr J W Furse, of Nottingham, made an ascent (up the same south-eastern facet used by Joseph Barton) by ladders, eleven of them, each ten feet high. A careful examination proved that, in the repairing done in 1857, iron clamps were used to brace the stones; these clamps have oxydised and swollen so as to split many of the stones and joints. The pinnacles and about thirty feet of the spire will have to be taken down and rebuilt, and in addition the whole of the tower and spire require pointing and other repairs, which the architect, Mr R Naylor, of Derby, estimates will cost £400.
"The height of the tower is 90 feet and that of the spire 112 feet."
"You will see great things happening to the Church Spire during the coming months. Another firm has been employed, viz Messrs Thompson of Peterborough, and they are going to remove the faulty stone, which has been very badly cracked owing to iron girders running through the Spire. Each stone, 78 in all, is to be taken out separately and new ones put in their place. The bells also are to be re-hung on a new cage which is to be considerably lowered. This will give more strength and will do away with a great amount of vibration, which has undoubtedly done a great deal of damage to the Spire. I am sure it will be a delight to all to hear the old bells ring again.
"The cost of the whole work is to be roughly £950. This seems a lot of money, but there will be no work needed to our Spire, at any rate, in our lifetime."
lnglesthorpe Manor, Wisbech 28 November 1925
Dear Sir,
Noticing that some repairs to the steeple of your church are necessary recalls an incident of 67 or 68 years ago when the weather vane needed attention. A small line was cleverly carried over the apex of the spire by a kite and dropped on the ground. A heavier line was attached and pulled up by the workmen employed. As might have been anticipated the join stuck on the rod extending above the stonework of the spire and the efforts of the workmen to dislodge it resulted, to the astonishment of the onlookers, and presumably to their own, in seeing some twenty feet of the spire totter and fall. In its descent it broke some of the pinnacles of the tower and I believe killed some sheep at its foot. The operation was regarded as so slight that the steeplejack was content to ascend by the rope to examine the vane and so avoid the expense of a scaffolding. Fortunately for him that the break did not occur when he was aloft had the rope been adjusted in proper manner.
I wonder if any Repton inhabitant is alive and can confirm my tale, though the Parish Accounts will go far to do so.
Yours faithfully,
J M Bland (an old Reptonian)
(After the church was struck by lightning)
"In the course of Sunday Services (April 15) the Vicar offered special thanks for the providential escape of the Church from serious injury, during the recent severe thunderstorm."
"The disturbance caused by the lightning to the upper part of the spire has been reported upon by the experts called in to inspect. The Church Council were much gratified to receive a further report from the Vicar's Warden, who on May 1, at 9 a.m. climbed to the weathercock and made a thorough investigation. We are quite sure that the village generally will share in the appreciation of Mr Fuller's voluntary and hazardous service in the interests of the parish."
Some older parishioners will remember a small booklet on the spire, written by Miss M. A. Shaw, of Brook End. Miss Shaw writes as follows:
. . . the pride of the villagers is the grand old Parish Church of St. Wystan, with its beautiful tapering spire, a landmark for miles, which seems 'like Nature's finger', eternally 'pointing to the Great First Cause'. The tower (90 ft.) (sic) and the spire (112 ft.) (sic) were complete in the year 1340 (sic). In 1804 the famous steeple, then devoid of a conductor, was struck by lightning which displaced the high copper ball and cross by which it was surmounted. A noted steeple-jack, Joseph Barton of Repton, was engaged to repair it. After the completion of his task, in compliance with a foolish boast, he climbed up to the cross, carrying a new coat, waistcoat and hat which had been presented to him, in order to don these garments for the first time. The noose, however, slipped and Barton was stranded. He was ultimately rescued by his little daughter Bessie, aged 10, who bravely went up and deftly threw a life-line. In 1856-58 the spire was again repaired, the cross being replaced by a weathercock. Iron clamps were used to brace the stone-work. In 1900 about thirty feet of the stone-work had to be taken down and rebuilt, two steeple-jacks being employed. The weathercock was carried in triumph round the village, and was jumped over by the residents. In 1924, when the lightning conductor was being examined, experts discovered the inside of the steeple was in a dangerous state.
Mr. Thompson, of Messrs. Currie and Thompson, ecclesiastical architects, reported that the floor of the tower was in very bad condition and recommended doing away with the existing lead and substituting concrete. Much of the spire needed repointing. In some places the existing stone was found to be in a very bad state and would have to be replaced by new stone. It is of interest to note that while the ladders and scaffolding were in position, Mr. C. A. Fuller, one of the churchwardens, climbed to the top of the spire. The estimated cost of this work was £400 and was carried out by a Nottingham firm of steeple-jacks, Messrs. Blackburn and Stirling; the concrete floor was laid by Parker & Co., builders. In the following July an outdoor Fete was held in the Hall orchard, by permission of the Headmaster, and the grand sum of £461.10.9 was raised, thereby more than covering the cost of the work.
In 1936 it was necessary to repoint more than 20 feet of the upper part of the spire.
In April 1949 the lightning conductor was inspected by the architect, who reported that it needed attention. Work costing £28 was carried out by Messrs. Furse, of Nottingham, which included re-arrangement of the tape and sinking of a new copper plate. A trench to carry the earth plate was dug by Col. Maynard and two Repton boys. The following August Messrs. Furse refitted copper wire guards in all the twelve upper lights of the spire to stop jackdaws getting into the belfry. The Augean task of removing jackdaw nests from the bell chamber, cleaning the floor, wire brushing and painting the bell frame and fittings was carried out in their spare time by Mr. S. H. Jones and Mr. W. Minor. And so to 1960!
Once again jackdaws were getting into the bell chamber and the litter of twigs was up to the bells. Messrs. Furse of Nottingham were called in to deal with the matter and inspect the spire. The report stated that 30 feet of the spire needed repointing; the iron clamp had corroded and burst four of the stones in the north and south sills on the top of the spire lights; the north-east pinnacle of the tower was unsafe; the top three columns of stone and the collar had burst through the corrosion of the iron clamp, needing to be replaced by new stones. By a curious coincidence, the cost was the same as in 1925: £400.
All this work has now been completed. The iron clamps in the spire and north-east pinnacle have been replaced with clamps of copper; the necessary repointing of the spire has been completed; the north-east pinnacle has been repaired; the three new stones at the top of the spire replaced. The wire guards have been either refastened or renewed and fifty-four sacks of twigs and rubbish carried in by jackdaws have been removed from the bell chamber. The cock and ball have been beautifully regilded and returned to their lofty perch. The two employees of Messrs Furse who have actually carried out all this work are Mr. R. Sheavyn, steeple-jack, and his assistant, Mr. Ken. Shaw ; their courageous and untiring devotion to their task has merited the admiration and gratitude of us all.
Note on the Weathercock :
Height from base of ball to top 7 ft.
Width of cock 2 ft.
Height of cock 2 ft.
Circumference of ball 3 ft. 2 ins.
Now that work is complete and the scaffolding removed, St Wystan's can return to its timeless tranquillity.
Due to the passage of time, weathering and water ingress, action had become essential. In brief: The top eight courses of stone were removed from the spire, five of them re fixed and the top three replaced. That meant taking down the weather cock, which was re-gilded and improvements made to its fixing. Several other stones were replaced in the spire and the whole re-pointed. Various elements of masonry have been replaced on the tower, particularly on the parapet and carved frieze, and re-pointing carried out where necessary. Rotten louvres in the bell chamber have been replaced with hardwood and the tower roof re-leaded around the base of the spire. All of this work required, as we have seen, a full scaffold. Taking advantage of that, the clock face has been refurbished and is once again clear for us all to see. The work was completed ahead of programme and within budget.
Architectural work and on site direction was undertaken by Anthony Short and Partners of Ashbourne and the restoration carried out by A J Restoration of Bulwell, Nottingham.