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A 12th-century church needs repairs because it keeps being vandalised. Plans to restore the Old St Helen's Church in Ore have been submitted to Hastings Borough Council. Believed to be one of the oldest buildings in Hastings, the site, near Ore Place, is in a "semi-ruinous" state and is currently owned and managed by the council.
The church, which is both a listed building and a scheduled monument, was restored ten years ago but the planning application states that repeated acts of vandalism have necessitated further considerable repairs. The west wall of the Saxon/Norman nave dates back to the early 12th century. The tower was added in the late 12th century, with an early English chancel added in the 13th century.
A south aisle was added in 1821. The tower remains largely intact, though the top 5ft has been recently rebuilt. The rest of the church is in a ruinous state.
Old St Helen's Church (Image: Oliver Tookey) The planning application details the impact of vandalism on the historic structure. "Since the restoration work, and the handover to Hastings Borough Council, the structure has come under a series of acts of vandalism," planning documents said. "The initial vandalism was mainly aimed at acquiring entry to the tower and was only affecting the new gated structure.
"Recently the vandalism has become more extensive and has resulted in substantial damage to the structural wall at the base of the tower around the doorway and some damage to the window surround nearby. "During the acts of vandalism some of the old stone blocks have become loose and damaged." The planned repairs include restoring the stonework surrounding the ground floor opening leading to the tower stairs and adapting the fixings to the existing metal gate.
The applicant says that vandals have forced their way into the main tower (Image: John D Clarke Architects) The plans also seek to remove metal bars and repair stonework to the ground floor tower west window. The council also wants to repair the damaged wall and stones to the remains on the south-east side of the tower. The new stone is to match the stone it replaces as closely as possible.
"The employer has salvaged some of the existing stone and the larger pieces have been moved to a secure location off site," planning documents said. "This will be made available free of charge to the contractor; however, the contractor should view and assess what stone can be reused. "As far as possible the contractor is to allow for the reuse of all the available existing stones that have been salvaged and are currently in safe storage.
"Any new stone to be imported should reflect the characteristic and size of the existing stones." The plans can be viewed using reference HS/FA/25/00158..
