Holy Rood Church

February 2025 update

The repairs to Holy Rood Church and the Titanic Crew Memorial started in April and were completed well before the onset of the winter weather. Lime mortar can only be used effectively when temperatures remain above 5°C and heavy rainfall can prevent it from curing.

Extensive work was carried out on the east window and the brickwork on the exterior of the north and east walls of the church. Some of the brickwork belonged to the ‘great house’ that was built on the land to the north and east of the church in 1551.

The Taunton family tomb located next to the church was repointed and some cracks in the stones were filled. The tomb was moved to its current location in 1958. Richard Taunton (1684-1752), founder of the Southampton school, was buried in this tomb when it was in its original location in St Johns churchyard, which used to be off French Street.

May update

The team from Paye has removed all the hard, cement-rich mortar that was used to repoint the building in the past and sampled the medieval mortar behind it. These samples have been sent off to be analysed. The results will determine what kind of lime mortar should be mixed up for the masons to use for the repointing.

What work is being done in Holy Rood Church?

More conservation work is being carried out in Holy Rood Church this year than in any of the other historic buildings in Southampton. Preserving it as a ruined building presents its own challenges.

The exposed 19th century Caen stone columns that were badly burnt during the Southampton Blitz are particularly vulnerable to frost damage. Many years ago, they were repaired using resin. This is now failing and needs to be replaced with a lime-based grout strengthened with very carefully inserted steel pins.

In common with many of the other monuments much of the building was repointed in cementitious mortar in the past and this is causing pointing to fail and some stones to crumble. A lot of this hard mortar is to be raked out and repointed this year. A few stones are also being replaced.

The memorial to the crew of the Titanic is also being treated. Even though the memorial is now in a sheltered spot beneath the church tower, the fixings inside the columns have corroded and have damaged the Portland stone. These will be cut out and replaced with new stainless-steel pins. The stone will then be pinned back in place.

Some cracks in the two Richard Taunton tombs will also be filled.