HISTORIC CHURCHES

THE PRIORY CHAPEL,
OSMOTHERLEY
Minor cracking in C18 walls combined with the very open roof construction were initially thought to be classic examples of eaves-spread. The truss members were massive but the dowelled half-joints appeared to have opened up by up to 50mm as indicated below. However further investigations revealed that the gaps were old and no remedial works were deemed necessary.

ST OLAVE CHURCH,
MARYGATE, YORK
The medieval church is part of St Mary’s Abbey. The walls to the Lady Chapel extension were showing recent cracking. Excavations revealed that the chapel had negligible foundations and had been built on a burial site. Recording of the cracking (as shown below) indicated that there was extensive loss of structural integrity in the walls. This analysis suggested that re-strengthening of the walls could prevent further differential settlement by enabling the wall to act as a beam which then could span over any soft ground. This solution had numerous advantages over the usual under pinning alternative.