The Church of St. Mary, the Virgin, Aldermanbury on Westminster College's campus began its renovation project Tuesday.
As a part of the National Churchill Museum, the renovations are the next step in a multi-year plan that began in 2017 to preserve "the fabric" of the museum's collection. Timothy Riley, the museum's Sandra L. and Monroe E. Trout director and chief curator, said this renovation process will last for 90 days.
"This part of the phase will include cleaning the stone to preserve it and remortoring the stonework on the westside of the church," Riley said.
The museum raised $1 million in donations for the multi-year plan. Riley said, following this winter, they will aim to raise an additional $4 million.
"We are using some of the same material that was used in the 1670s. In doing so, we are looking ahead to the future while looking back at the past," Riley said.
The museum commissioned a 2017 study of 17th-century stone in order to preserve the church's history. Additionally in the three month span, the museum aims to replace the church's windows and doors with refurbished ones.
"As good stewards of this unique property, we're doing this work. It's exciting to see this internationally known monument be cleaned and preserved," Riley said.
The church will remain open and fully operational throughout the renovations. The multi-year plan started in the fall of 2018 when contractors installed new copper downspouts along the church.
"The public's access should not be affected by this work; we're open for business as usual," Riley said.
According to the National Churchill Museum, the church was founded in the late 11th or early 12th century within what is now the historic city of London. The church was burned by the great fire of London in 1666 and was rebuilt in 1677 with as much of the original stone as possible. The process to have the church rebuilt in Fulton as a memorial to Winston Churchill began in 1965 and was completed in 1967.