Aldershot’s Royal Garrison Church Successful Reopening!

Employees from Aspire Defence gathered with Army personnel, Sherriff’s Stain Glass and Jordan and Faber to celebrate the incredible work that has been completed to restore the Royal Garrison Church in Aldershot. The Garrison Church plays a vital role within the Military and local community. It’s a place of wellbeing and unity as well as hosting Military milestones. Its support goes further than religious services; it also acts as a centre for the community and a monument to the British Army since Victorian times. 

The restoration project was a labour of love for Aspire Defence Services Limited’s Project Manager, Mark Basset who has seen this project through to completion. It was a meticulous project that included the restoration of all the church’s stained glass windows that date back to 1856. A team of experts at Sherriff’s Stain Glass Windows carefully removed, precisely numbered, and restored each glass pane to its former glory, before re-leading and refitting the pieces.

The restoration project involved some impressive quantities:

• 5 miles of timber batten
• 10 months to complete
• 15 specialists working together
• 175kg of lead light cement used
• 199 leaded glass panels removed
• 300 + ridge tiles
• 1,749 organ pipes moved
• 64,000 copper nails used
• Over 204,800 pieces of glass refurbished in total

 

Mark Bassett reflects on the restoration project:

“After working on the Garrison for the past 30 years, and delivering several successful projects, the completion of the refurbishment works on the Royal Garrison Church is by far the most satisfying project I’ve had the pleasure of working on.

“All our core Values have been met in some way during the 10-month programme. Many compliments have been received on how wonderful the Church now looks and from individuals moved by the light reflecting through the windows. For me personally, having replaced the slate roof in 2021, the latest works are the finishing touch, and probably the church’s largest refurbishment in its 161-year history.”

 

Accompanying the unveiling of the restoration project was the display of  ‘The Longest Yarn’, a profound 80-metre tapestry piece of crochet and knit depicting  “The Longest Day” for D-Day’s 80 anniversary. An inspiring idea by Tansy Forster was crafted by herself along with a collection of creative and determined individuals who have been generous with their time and much needed wool donations. To add a deeper meaning a volunteer with Military heritage included wool from their relative’s cherished jumper, adding another level of personalisation to those who had served at the time. The tapestry has many personal touches thoughtfully added. The project team also included two World War 2 historians, helping keen volunteers accurately representing an important scene from the D-Day landings, taken from original photos or from the film “Le Jour Le Plus Long” (The Longest Day), which also inspired the name of the project.

The sheer scale and attention to detail of this fantastic tapestry project is even more evident in person, and there is a planned tour of The Longest Yarn so it will be open to all. You can see the tour schedule and dates here.

An ambitious project paying tribute to the men and women who laid down their lives for our freedom, you can read more about this monumental project here.

A special thanks to The Longest Yarn for this incredible project, and Image courtesy of The Longest Yarn Facebook page.