Stonewest Ltd, the Croydon-based stone and conservation specialists, have been awarded a further £115,000 ecclesiastical contract for restoration work on St Stephen\'s Church in Gloucester Road, London.

Stonewest had already completed three months work on the Grade ll* listed St Stephen\'s when, following new allocations of funding, the Church was able to extend its restoration work under the direction of Robert Adam Architects.

Stonewest have been employed directly by the Church for works on the exterior and interior of St Stephen\'s including stone cleaning, stone restoration and repairs, roofing, refurbishment of timber work in the vestry and replacement of water drainage systems.

Working in Hartham Park Bath stone, Stonewest have been restoring the weatherings to the original rag stone walls. Cementicious \'strap\' pointing was carefully removed to cause minimum damage to the stone arrises before repointing using a hydraulic lime-based mortar. The external walls were repaired with new stone to match the existing and Stonewest carried out JOS cleaning.

The stone copings at St Stephen\'s had eroded significantly so replacement masonry was carved to match exactly the original profiles. The roofing work was completed in Welsh slate, again to match the existing material.

Nick Wilson of Stonewest said: "Once again, initial work by Stonewest has been so successful that as soon as more funding was allocated we got the call.

"This is another example of the increased attention ecclesiastical sites are receiving in terms of renovation and the increasing reputation of Stonewest Ltd as the first and trusted port of call for such specialist work."