THE Vicar of Chobham has asked the parish council to again pay for repairs to the 17th-century wall around the grounds of St Lawrence Church.

The Rev Dan Stork Banks told the council that he believed it had taken over responsibility for upkeep of the churchyard when it was closed for burials.

He said urgent repairs were needed to the rear wall because of vandalism, wear and tear and children playing on the brickwork. 

The front and side walls also needed some restoration.

There was a law that said a local authority should maintain a graveyard when it was no longer in use. He understood the parish council had accepted this in the 1950s.

“If we had the money we would contribute to the cost of repairs, but we haven’t got the money,” added Mr Stork Banks. 

The Church of England was in decline and in Chobham it was just managing to keep its head above water.

Council clerk Annette Barber said she had recently been told by Chobham’s parochial church council that the parish council was not responsible for the maintenance, but this appeared to be incorrect.

She had checked and found the wall was not covered by the council’s insurance.

Long-serving councillor Pat Tedder said the council took over the churchyard maintenance in 1958 and had looked after it since then.

The council led the last wall restoration project, which was completed in 2004 following a nine-year saga involving frustrations and delays in obtaining funding and permissions.

Work on the front wall and side wall was paid for with a £50,000 National Lottery grant and around £25,000 contributed by the parish council. 

Hold-ups were caused by English Heritage initially rejecting the restoration plans and protracted discussions with the Guildford Diocesan authorities to reach an agreement on what should be done.

The repair scheme was drawn up and supervised by Brian Leadsom, director of the Chobham-based Historic Buildings Company, who also found a specialist firm to do the work. It was the first wall restoration since the 1940s.

Parish councillors have now agreed to check their responsibilities regarding the churchyard maintenance. 

The subject will be on the agenda for their November meeting.