St Lawrence Church, West Wycombe

Cohanim undertook the church's 2016 Quinquennial Inspection, with inspections carried out in May and November 2016. The resulting assessment extended considerably beyond a standard schedule of obvious defects. Historical research was used alongside physical inspection to understand the building's sequence of development, including medieval fabric which had become visually obscured by the dramatic 18th-century remodelling. The inspection identified hundreds of individual defects and recommendations, ranging from urgent roof and rainwater problems through masonry deterioration, windows, timberwork and health-and-safety matters. This established a framework for prioritising expenditure rather than approaching repairs reactively as individual failures occurred.

The most significant architectural intervention was the proposed new Sunday School. The Cohanim project record describes it as the first extension designed to be physically attached to St Lawrence since the church was redesigned and rebuilt during the 18th century. That placed an unusual responsibility on the design. The objective was neither to imitate the existing church nor to create an overtly contrasting object competing with it. Instead, the extension uses the scale, construction and material logic of the historic building as the starting point for a contemporary intervention. The design incorporates flint masonry, Portland-stone detailing, natural materials and a vaulted internal form, while retaining a clear distinction between new and old.

The most sensitive part of the proposal was not the external extension itself. It was the new doorway connecting it to the nave. The proposal requires a controlled opening approximately 800mm wide through the substantial historic nave wall, detailed with a Portland-stone surround and a precisely formed contemporary door. The development of this detail was informed by survey work which revealed that the historic tower is approximately 500mm off-centre, materially affecting the available geometry for the extension. Rather than force the original concept onto the building, the extension evolved in response to what the survey revealed. This is a useful case-study point: historical buildings dictate parts of their own design once they are properly understood.

The proposed extension is deliberately based around high-quality natural materials. The internal tower wall remains exposed. Light oak flooring maximises reflected natural light. The roof is vaulted internally and shaped to improve daylight penetration. Externally, carefully executed flint work responds directly to the historic building without attempting to disguise the date of the intervention. A patterned flint gable was also developed as an element specific to the new work rather than a literal reproduction of historic masonry.

The project required approval through the Church of England's Faculty Jurisdiction. The Diocesan Advisory Committee reviewed the scheme in September 2016 and recommended it for approval, subject to archaeological oversight, a DAC site visit during the works and consultation with Historic England. The DAC expressly recognised that the proposal was capable of affecting the church's special architectural and historic character and its archaeological remains. Formal Faculty 2016-001383 was granted on 25 January 2017. It authorised: the single-storey North-West extension; the new doorway into the nave; and relocation of the existing internal war memorial to the adjacent nave bay. The Faculty also imposed specific archaeological protections governing any human remains, artefacts or ecofacts encountered during the works.

The project sits within an archaeologically sensitive setting containing centuries of burial activity and earlier occupation. The Faculty process therefore required specific consultation with the Diocesan Archaeological Adviser and provision for archaeological observation and recording. The granted Faculty expressly required work to cease if articulated human remains were discovered and prohibited removal of archaeological material without further ecclesiastical authority. Archaeology was therefore incorporated into the construction strategy rather than treated as an unexpected risk.

The church presented a much larger conservation task than the new extension alone. The Quinquennial Inspection identified significant problems associated principally with the roof and rainwater systems. The exposed hilltop position exacerbated wind-driven rain and accelerated the consequences of failed roof coverings, gutters and downpipes. Other issues included: missing and deteriorated flint; defective stonework; exposed and deteriorating masonry; failing slate and render at buttresses; window deterioration; timber decay; loose steps; lightning-protection requirements; and ongoing monitoring of structural cracking. The report proposed moving from reactive maintenance towards a structured Five-Year Plan for the church.

Water ingress had already caused internal and external damage. The repair strategy included investigation of roof leaks, slipped tiles and deteriorated roof components alongside lime-based internal repair, timber-window work and damaged dado panelling. Microbiological investigation was also undertaken where damp, mould and dry rot had developed. The project records confirm that remedial roof works were subsequently carried out under Cohanim's supervision to halt water ingress, together with replacement of affected internal timber dado panelling. This linked the Quinquennial process directly to implemented conservation work rather than allowing the report simply to become a record of defects.

The church's significance does not remove the practical constraint of limited parish resources. Cohanim therefore also assisted in structuring repair priorities around available grant-funding routes. A Buckinghamshire Historic Churches Trust application prepared as part of the programme addressed roof investigation, lime repair, window work and damaged internal timberwork and records parallel engagement with the Listed Places of Worship funding route. The later Quinquennial record notes a successful £5,000 grant which assisted with remedial roof work. This is worth retaining in the case study: conservation architecture often depends as much upon structuring a realistic programme of works and funding as it does upon producing drawings.

The Sunday School extension was not conceived simply as additional floor area. It addressed the everyday functioning of the church. The new accommodation provides a dedicated space for children and community activity while improving the ability to access that part of the building without disrupting the principal nave. The Quinquennial work also considered accessibility across the wider church, including wheelchair access and the relationship between the tower, nave and proposed extension. The project therefore balances national heritage significance with the continuing use of the church as a living community building.