Discover the history of Ratley

Chris Pickford, the editor of the revised volume of Pevsner's Buildings of England: Warwickshire, will visit St Peter ad Vincula church, on Tuesday, October 29 to talk about the special buildings and features within Ratley.

The talk, entitled 'What's so interesting about Ratley?' will unearth a number of surprising facts about the village's listed buildings and bring to life Ratley's fascinating history.

The lead was stolen in July 2018 from the south aisle roof and the estimated total for the repair is at least £105,000.00.

Lead will not be replaced with lead, only to tempt thieves again, instead the listed church is permitted to use 'terne-coated steel'.

In addition the work will include preparing the underlying woodwork and treatment of insect infestations, the repair of crumbling external stonework and 'blown' internal plaster and improving rainwater drainage from the roof.

Although the theft came as a financial body-blow to the villagers after a building inspection in 2016 suggested there might be trouble with the main roof timbers, it also unearthed something quite extraordinary.

Following some research, and the discovery of a date pressed into the plaster near one of the main timbers as if by a thumb, it was found that the roof may not have had significant work done since 1759.

The talk begins at 7pm, tickets are £10 on the door and include an glass of wine, school aged children enter for free.