Day 184 - Skirting Radiators

Week 38 - Day 184
The chapel had large radiators fitted. These have been saved, but the modern heating will be provided through skirting radiators fitted around the outside walls, underneath the box pews that are fitted around the walls. The central pipe carries the hot water with thin vanes to transmit the heat to the room.
 

Day 183 - Primer Paint to Vestry and Gallery

Week 38 - Day 183
Starting to prime woodwork in the chapel today. The vestry was a later addition within the chapel is is a lower quality wood compared to earlier fitments such as the pews and pulpit.

Undercoat to the woodwork of the vestry.

Preparation of the woodwork to the vestry and the gallery. 

Day 182 - Inserting New Stones to Door Openings

Week 38 - Day 182
The old broken stones have been removed.
One of the new stones has already been replaced to the right hand jamb. The lintel is awaiting insertion.

Day 181 - New Stone Delivered

Week 38 - Day 181
New stone delivered today to replace rotted stone above one of the doors on the Jackson Pit elevation at the rear of the chapel.

Propping up the brickwork above the door lintel so the stone can be removed
and replaced. 

Day 180 - Soldier Bricks

Week 37 - Day 180
The soldier bricks above the windows are relaid. The new window cills are fitted in below the windows to replace the damages cills.

Day 179 - Sunlight Across the Restoration

Week 37 - Day 179
The sun was doing its thing today after days of rain and cloud. Now the external fencing is down and scaffolding removed the sun can once again shine through the coloured glass.
It should look fabulous when all the surfaces are stained and painted.

Day 178 - Removal of Perimeter Fencing

Week 37 - Day 178
All the fencing has now been taken down. Getting a good view of the chapel now. The pointing still needs to mature before it reaches its optimal colour.

George Street Chapel, Oldham  just after all the perimeter fencing has been removed.

Day 177 - Removal of Perimeter Fencing and Work to Outer Walls

Week 37 - Day 177
With doors and windows in place the external perimeter fencing as well as the scaffolding is being removed. This opens up the lower sections of the outer walls for repairs and repointing.

Removal of the external perimeter fencing from the David Street - George Street
side  of George Street Chapel, Oldham.

Day 176 - Finishing off Pointing and Brickwork

Week 37 - Day 176
With all the upper works completed - gutters, windows etc the scaffolding can start to be removed and the pointing works completed where the scaffolding prevented access.

Jackson Pit elevation of George Street Chapel as the scaffolding starts to be removed.

Repairing all the decayed brickwork at the SW corner where lack of
maintenance to gutters and downpipes has caused progressive damage
to the brickwork.

Day 175 - New Locks for New Doors

Week 36-Day 175
The external doors are now painted and are being fitted with their new locks.
The perimeter fence is stil in place until all the doors and windows are secured and the building alarms are functioning.

One of the doors opening on to Jackson Pit from the cellar dwellings. 

The front doors being fitted back.

Day 174 - All the bits-and-bobs for the Gallery

Week 36 - Day 174
New timbers for the gallery fronts with boxes to cover up the metal uprights that have had to be created to provide stability for the front to meet modern safety regulations. Can't afford anyone collapsing the front and ending up falling to the chapel floor below!

Day 173 - All the Facilities Start to Arrive

Week 36 - Day 173
The sinks and WCs were delivered today for fixing within the toilets.

Day 172 - Interpreting History

Week 36 - Day 172
Whilst work continues within the Chapel another thread of the project continues to put together the story of the Chapel based on documents (what was written down about the Chapel) and on the archaeology of the building (what the fabric of the Chapel tells us about its history). Both of these are incomplete records and have to be evaluated and fitted together in a narrative time-line before we can use it to tell a story.

Long section through the chapel showing cellar dwellings
and the chapel itself with its gallery.

In its early arrangement there were no windows in the David Street gable.

A large scale OS map showing the internal pew arrangement around 1845.

Day 171 - Painting the External Doors

Week 36 - Day 171
The external doors got their first coat of paint today. These are to be replaced within the cellar doors on the Jackson pit side of the building.

Day 170 - Laying Tiles in Toilets

Week 35 - Day 170
The tiles were started to be laid in the toilet areas. For hygiene reasons these areas have to have a washable surface.

Day 169 - Repairing Floorboards

Week 35 - Day 169
Attention turned to the floor today. Piecing new boards in to replace damaged older ones on the gallery.

Day 168 - Repairing Pews

Week 35 - Day 168
Repairs to the book rests on one set of pews.

Day 167 - Repairing Pews

Week 35 - Day 167
Whilst work still continues on plastering, pointing and painting windows more work starts to repair the pews.