The Restoration of The Church Spire

The following are the tenders received for the restoration of Rushden church spire, in accordance with the forms of the specification set forth by Mr. W. L. Baker, of London, after a careful inspection of the structure:- Mr. J. Till (Nottingham), £625; Mr. E. Brown (Wellingborough), £285; Mr. J. T. Wingrove, Northampton, £247 10s; Mr. W. Streather, Raunds, £225; Mr. Joseph Blackburn, Nottingham, £164 15s 6d; Mr. Blackburn’s tender has, we understand been accepted, and the work will be put in hand immediately. It appears from an inscription cut upon the doorway leading from the tower to the battlements that the spire has not been pointed since 1719. We understand that it has been decided to hold a bazaar in the Rectory Grounds of a specially attractive character, in order to raise a portion of the funds required for the necessary work, and we have no doubt but that all inhabitants of Rushden will co-operate heartily in the work of preserving their beautiful church spire, which is said to be unsurpassed in gracefulness and perfectness of proportion even in this county of fine spires.

EXCITING INCIDENT AT RUSHDEN. About eight o'clock on Monday evening the residents of the town, or, at least, several hundreds of them, witnessed a foolish, but, at the same time, daring, adventure on the part of a man named Ingram, who was observed to be ascending the scaffolding which is erected round the church spire for repairs. Having reached the base of the steeple, Ingram was seen to commence climbing up by means of the stone abutment, which runs to within 10 or 12 feet of the weather vane. Reaching the highest ledge, Ingram encircled the tapering steeple with his arms and legs, and climbed to the top stone on which he sat apparently very cool and collected. He then amused the spectators by turning the weathercock round, and finished up by taking out of his pocket a red, white, and blue flag which he secured to the top of the vane. Ingram then descended in the same manner that he went up, and at once proceeded to take his hat round and obtained a good collection. The end of the surprises, however, had not yet been reached, for instead of pocketing the spoils Ingram distributed the contents of the hat among the children assembled round the church. The flag is still flying on the steeple.

Church Spire—The repair of the church spire has been commenced this week, and ladders have been affixed. The work is being carried out under the direction of Mr. A. H. Bowen, of Edmonton, and an ascent of the spire revealed that the damage is more extensive than had been anticipated, the masonry in all probability having been struck by lightning. It will probably be some two or three weeks before the work is completed. In addition to the work on the masonry, a new lightning conductor will have to be fixed, and the total cost is estimated at over £100, and we hope a liberal response will be made to the Rector’s appeal for a good collection on Feast Sunday. Our beautiful church spire—perhaps the most beautiful in this county of beautiful spires—is a precious possession to the town of Rushden, and its good repair may well be thought to concern the whole town. The Rector will be glad to receive donations from any friends interested in the preservation of the church spire, irrespective of creed or denomination. The various dates of the restoration of the spire are marked on the masonry, the earliest being 1498 A.D. Intervals of a century of the following restorations are as follow: 1620, 1719, 1885, and 1918. The probably date of the erection of the spire would be about A.D. 1400.

The Rushden Echo and Argus, 14^th January 1955, transcribed by Gill Hollis

A ball of string measured spire

  One day a historical Sherlock Holmes will find out the identity of the hoaxer who misled Northamptonshire for more than a century about the height of Rushden spire.

  For years it was credited with 192 feet – twelve feet higher than Kettering and 17 above Higham.

  Even that final authority on matters of fact the Victoria County History plumped for 192.

  Then in his book on church spires, Mr. L. G. H. Lee cast doubts on the figure “Nearer 160 feet.” He said.

PIECE OF STRING

  And finally when steeplejacks were up aloft, colleague L. V. Elliott of our Rushden office had the height measured – with a piece of string.

  Sure enough it was 164 feet, and Mr. Elliott has preserved the string in his office to confound doubting Thomases.

  But who made the initial mistake? I have traced it back to 1849, when Whellan’s Directory gave 192 feet.

  The writer on Rushden was in a happy-go-lucky mood for he gaily confused Rushden with Rushton, 14 miles away, and described the church as possessing both “a spire” and “a steeple.”   

TAKEN down from its lofty perch when restoration work began, the weathercock of St. Mary's, Rushden, had long been supposed to reside at a height of 192 feet above ground.

It returned to Rushden in the splendour of new gilt, only to find that the spire had been measured and was no more than 164 feet. Mr. G. E. V. Fleeman, a churchwarden, fondled the bird consolingly on Wednesday afternoon, and the steeplejacks will take it aloft in a few days.

In the meantime the weathercock, with four small turret vanes of similar design, can be inspected at the Vestry Hall. It bears the inscription: "Blackburn, Nottingham, 1885. Repd. by Furse Nottm., 1953."