Facing up to the inevitable: the experience of flood events and lessons learnt at St Michael and All Angels’ Church in Tirley, South West England

Abstract

In July 2007, a disastrous flood struck Gloucestershire, in the southwest of England. The Grade I listed church of St Michael and All Angels in Tirley was inundated, resulting in its interior and churchyard being extensively damaged. Despite the disastrous flooding and the distress caused, Tirley’s church congregation, supported by the local community, the insurance company and many historic building professionals, resolved to renew their church. Their traumatic experience has presented opportunities to make the building more fit for purpose and more resilient to future flood events. It has deepened a sense of belonging and the valuing of heritage in the community and has ensured the historical continuity of the church and its many stories. Proactive planning will play a major part in facing up to future climate change-related challenges at Tirley church. New research is being planned to examine the effectiveness of existing flood mitigation measures, the overall condition of the building fabric and the church site. The anticipated outcome of this work is a bespoke Flood Impact and Protection Management Plan which will include a set of recommendations, which can be adopted to bolster flood resilience of this historic church, as well as other churches dealing with similar challenges.