Fulton residents near the National Churchill Museum may have seen a drone in their midst Thursday morning. It is the first step of the first phase of a long-term restoration project to have the St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury Church in top
form by the 50th anniversary celebration to be held in 2019.
In this initial step, the drone is outfitted with a GoPro camera that will do a 3D scan and produce video, which will in turn be converted to 2D AutoCAD drawings. Then project architect Angie Geist Gaebler from Strata Architecture and Preservation of Kansas City will utilize
the drawings to get a base set of conditions of the church, tower and Churchill statue.
"It's such a unique structure," said Gaebler, whose main concerns for the building are mortar joints, windows and interior wood damage.
At a later date, Gaebler said she will measure by hand some of the areas that are not as easily
scanned.
"I get to really learn a building when I measure by hand," she said. But areas such as the clock tower and the roof are easier to access with the drone.
"Missouri weather seems to be harsher than that in London," said James Williams, executive director of the National Churchill Museum, speaking of the
deterioration.
There are a number of issues facing the structure, according to Williams. First, the windows are single pane which allows for condensation within the building. This causes rust on the steel window frames and deteriorates the plaster. Also, the church was built around a steel framework. When the steel "sweats,' it creates moisture that seeps inward to the interior plaster and outward to the exterior limestone. Both circumstances are damaging.
Likewise, because the windows do not offer ultra-violet protection to the interior of the building, much of the wood is drying and faded. Though the wood is not original to the building due to incendiary bombs used during World War II and their resulting fires, some of the woodwork was incorporated from other 17th century churches during the 1960s. Expert wood conservators will be brought in to assist in restoration where it is needed.
"Right now we need to understand what needs to be done," Williams said. "Then we will pro- ceed in a correct order and use qualified conservators to make certain this is done precisely." Experts in wood and soft-limestone preservation are coming from all over the Midwest for the project.
The restoration cost is estimated at $1,000,000 and will be provided through gifts and funds raised by the Mid-Missouri Chapter of the Friends of the National Churchill Museum.
The church was originally con- structed in the 17th century by acclaimed architect Christopher Wren who was charged with rebuilding 52 churches after the 1666 fires in London. The church was dismantled and brought to Fulton in the 1960s as a memorial to Winston Churchill.