St Luke's Cradley Heath

What a nice church, a good find. But this place needs a good clean and the woodwork a polish with beeswax. It also has a complete organ, most derelict churches have a non-working organ but this one looks complete, maybe non-working but minus one pipe. I had a google search for the 1st Cradley Scout group and they are still active but called by another name.

Lovely unvandalised site with several nice bits remaining, sweet set of pics, Thanks

Need restore fast before decay sets in too good to go to waste !!

ROCKYDOG said:

Need restore fast before decay sets in too good to go to waste !!

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And what do you do with it then? Many of the churches were built on land that is governed by deeds or covenants in perpetuity. There are a number of 70's / 80's restorations that have become money pits and just continue to slowly fall apart or fall prey to MRS DAMP and MR LEAK. My best mate is heavily involved in the Church Restoration Trust, but even he says a line has to be drawn under some times. I like the Court Papers (tied in red ribbon) re the unpaid or questioned organ repair bill. Sadly the missing, and just decorative organ front pipe, does not tell the complete story - this organ, like many in similar abandoned chapels and churches, wants an awful lot of money spending on it. Like many musical instruments, they need playing to keep in fettle - or proper mothballing, just pulling the plug is not enough, sadly!

Great find, still plenty of stuff in good condition inside.

That's lovely.so many beautiful colours in it.and glad you decided to go

Very nice Mart! Looks like a cracking location!

Loads to see there. Fascinating set.

Dirus_Strictus said:

And what do you do with it then? Many of the churches were built on land that is governed by deeds or covenants in perpetuity. There are a number of 70's / 80's restorations that have become money pits and just continue to slowly fall apart or fall prey to MRS DAMP and MR LEAK. My best mate is heavily involved in the Church Restoration Trust, but even he says a line has to be drawn under some times. I like the Court Papers (tied in red ribbon) re the unpaid or questioned organ repair bill. Sadly the missing, and just decorative organ front pipe, does not tell the complete story - this organ, like many in similar abandoned chapels and churches, wants an awful lot of money spending on it. Like many musical instruments, they need playing to keep in fettle - or proper mothballing, just pulling the plug is not enough, sadly!

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I know what you are saying But so much waste in the world and homelees people

What a wonderful place and fantastic photographs, lovely piano pics and the way you have focused in on the smaller details within the church creates a great record.

I must admit its a bit like the scene from The Omen if im ever dragged into a church, unless its derelict of course lol

I played for the decomissioning service of my church many years ago. Having taken care of a church organ for 35 years, it was heart wrenching after that last chord had been played, and knowing that it would never be played again. Despite good intentions of restorers, the fact is that modern high-end digital,organs are indistinguishable in sound, and come in at 1/10 of the cost of their pipe equivalent. Oh, the pipe organs have way more character of course, but this one will likely be demolished and it's pipes sent to an organ builder for reclaiming the metal. That missing pipe worries me. The centre 8ft diapaoson has also been moved. This makes me wonder if the metal thieves have already been inside it and hooked out the useful,stuff?

Either way, I remember that sad night well. Once the Bishop has done his thing and the interior of the church was in darkness, the congregation filed out into the hall. I didn't though. I sat at the instrument and couldn't bring myself to silence the blower that final time.

I dare say some will find this sentimental bollocks, but it's quite something to explore a derelict church, and it's quite something to be there at the start of its journey into dereliction.

(Ok, fess up. I kept a key to my old church. For twenty years, I went back regularly, before I'd heard of Urbexing, and watched it quietly sink into decay. The old organ, unplayable now there is no electricity on the site, is still there, although on my last visit, the metal,thieves had stripped it of its lead action piping and all the metal pipework. I wonder if they care a jot that some of that pipework was manufactured when Bach was alive? Probably not.

Oops. Just realised how long this is.....sorry.