The ground around the site seems to be staying waterlogged after high river levels longer than it ever used to. This might have something to do with raised water tables caused by current infilling of the flood plain immediately downstream.
It might also explain why the large stone cross on our heritage site erected in 1904 and upright and stable for more than a century has now begun to lean sideways.
Something must be altering the load-bearing capacity of the ground to produce these symptoms of impending collapse.
We are applying to the Heritage Lottery Fund, the city council and residents for emergency finance to investigate and solve this problem. It is complex because this monument is listed as well as listing and in archaeologically sensitive ground. We need a large crane on site to lift it down before it falls and breaks apart. We can then begin to investigate causes and plan an appropriate conservation strategy to restore it back to a stable condition.
In the meantime our heritage site is too dangerous a place to visit and must remain closed for your own safety. You can see how much the base has moved since our railed enclosure was use as safe play space for the local pre-school play group only two years ago.
This symbol of a thousand years of Christian worship on this ancient site is a well-known local landmark and we will do our best to preserve it. But it will be a difficult and expensive problem to solve and we can’t do this without your financial help. If you would like to help us to solve this problem please contact us by email: info@standrewstrust.co.uk