In 1990, the complete reconstruction of the Church Tower was undertaken by Quibell & Son [ Hull] Limited and Mowlem.

Click Here to read their summary of the work carried out by Quibell & Son. [Acrobat Reader needed, 351kb file]. Alternatively see their website - there is a link below the photographs.

It is interesting to see that Mowlem was also involved in the reconstruction, as they are currently replacing the village's sewage system. They have contributed the following information about their part in the reconstruction of the Church Tower.

The Contract
John Mowlem & Company plc (now Mowlem plc) were awarded the contract to underpin the church foundations by British Coal in November 1990 at a tender cost of £846,000-00 and a contract period of 50 weeks. The Consulting Engineer was Husband & Co, Sheffield. (now Mott MacDonald) The dismantling and reconstruction of the tower was sub-contracted by Mowlem to Quibell of Hull.

The Reason for the Works
The works were deemed necessary as the local colliery at Kellingley had plans to cut a new seam under the church during1992. The resultant ground settlement from the mining operations would have caused severe stress to the structural fabric of the church, the walls and tower of which were already in an unstable condition.

The Works
The works involved underpinning of the masonry substructure, with reinforced concrete ground beams being installed beneath the existing masonry walls. the new beams had 15 chambers built beneath them to enable jacking and re-levelling of the church during the mining operations. The west tower was dismantled and after new foundations had been constructed it was rebuilt.

The Excavation for the New Foundations
The existing wall and tower foundations were found to consist of large rectangular stones bearing onto the underlying layers of sand. During the excavation works we were assisted by archaeologists from York University who were working under a separate contract to excavate and record, before and during the course of the works. The number of graves recorded far exceeded the original estimate and the considered verdict by the archaeologist was that the church had been an important centre for worship and visitors in the past. The Knight's Gravestone, that presumably is still displayed in the church, was also uncovered during the course of our works.

In Conclusion
Trial jacking of the church and tower was successfully carried out during the summer of 1992 but the excavation of the coal seam never took place due to a reduction in production levels within the coal industry

This is a collection of 20 photos taken at the time by Renee Ray.

[More available on another page - see the link below.]

Try these links to find out more about our Church

For details about the reconstruction, try www.quibell.co.uk/masons/kellington.htm

For information about its history, try freespace.virgin.net/richard. lockwood/Kellington%20church.htm

For general information and further links, try www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS/WRY/Kellington