Spire repairs 2021

The St Stephen’s spire has stood as a significant part of the Canonbury landscape for over 180 years. 

It marks out St Stephen's as a place of worship, refuge and support in the midst of our diverse community and symbolises the continuous presence of the church in Canonbury through changing times and passing generations.  

When the Church was bombed in 1940 the top of the spire was destroyed and the tower remained in its diminished form until fundraising to mark the beginning of the new millennium made it possible to replace the upper part once again.  

During the quinquennial inspection carried out in 2016, some issues were identified with the structure of the tower and after further investigations, it was established that cracks had appeared in some of the stonework. This is possibly due to the weight of the new section installed in 2000 or could be due to general movement and settlement over many years.  

To complete the repairs we needed to raise £85,000  This was made possible by contributions from:  

• Individual donors, large and small 
• The Richard Cloudesley Charity for a grant of £60,000 
• All Churches Trust for a grant of £3,500 

And in addition, we also received £14,000 in VAT refund.  

Thank you to everyone who contributed and made this possible so that our spire could be repaired before another winter had the chance to do further damage.