Topping out!
On a beautiful sunny summer’s day, where else would you get cake, drinks on the lawn and a Rector in a hard hat. Welcome to the parish of Barnsbury.
On Wednesday August 6th, 2025, the bell rang out at St Andrew’s Church at four o’clock to call local people to an unusual ceremony. ‘Topping out’ is what builders usually do when a project gets to completion. The ceremony can vary but this time it came in the form of readings and prayers, including words attributed to Sir Francis Drake:
O Lord God…
Grant us to know that it is not the beginning
But the continuing of the same unto the end
Until it be thoroughly finished
Which yieldeth the true glory.
There is a huge job ahead at St Andrew’s, but on this sunny afternoon people of Barnsbury could celebrate a significant achievement with the completed restoration of the west wall. The church was proud to welcome the Mayor of Islington, Councillor Jason Jackson, to the ceremony which was attended by over 50 local people
Reverend Caroline Titley, Rector of the Parish of Barnsbury was seen climbing up three stories of scaffolding to bless the new stonework. This was the first stage of major permanent stonework restoration to the building, built in 1854, following the smaller long-term repairs to the north vestry gable in 2024. 150 stones have been replaced by stonemasons Universal Stone under the direction of Art Architects.
The next hurdle facing this beautiful and well used building, is the preservation of the spire and tower. The spire is currently swathed in netting, and the church is protected by crash decks. Over the last five years, £400,000 has been raised from generous local donors, including many individuals and Islington's own Cloudesley charity. This has enabled urgent repairs - some temporary, some permanent - to keep the building safe and open. We now need to raise a further £300,000 for the spire alone. Not to try to save the spire would mean huge expense, risk of further deterioration and possibly the closure of the building, used by hundreds of people each week. PLEASE SUPPORT US IN OUR NEXT STAGE
