What’s Old Becomes New Again

Scaffolding begins to surround the exterior of
Kings College Chapel. The billboards describe the
integration of architectural and environmental 
research being undertaken at the university.

After supper at Ridley Hall, many of the students usually repair to the Common Room just opposite the Dining Room for tea or coffee and a bit of conversation. Just as we entered, however, it was clear that this would not be the usual relaxing time as water poured through the window casement on the north end of the room. A thunderstorm had just passed. My guess is that a maintenance crew had pieced through a lead gutter during a clearing process and the great downpour was now making its way inward rather than to the downspout. My rector’s heart immediately felt pangs of compassion for any administrator who had charge of centuries old buildings as these were (relatively the same age as St. Luke’s). Cruel as it might be, there was great relief in that there was nothing I could do about it – it was clearly someone else’s problem. All rallied, however, to gather receptacles to minimize the damage and gather the incoming flood. The dehumidifier would run for days afterward to dry the carpet. I’d been down this road before.

One of the first things I noticed upon arriving in Cambridge was scaffolding around the chapel at King’s College. I didn’t think too much about it until I was in the queue for Evensong on Friday of that first week. Soon, I discovered that this was the beginning the replacement of the 150-year-old lead roof the chapel. The process involves stripping off the lead, melting it down, and reusing it over the next few months to rebuild the roof’s coating. Once the lead is fully removed, the roof timbers will be inspected to ensure they are in good condition. The new roof could also support discrete solar panels, if pending plans are approved. However, any such plan would need approval from several organizations before being installed. However, there is no guarantee that such approval would be forthcoming and any one of the organizations involved (municipal or ecclesiastical) could refuse such permission. 

The entire process simultaneously seeks to attain several goals. First, it hopes to assure that a building dating from 1446 continues to have a viable and integral roof. Secondly, to do so in a way that is sustainable and uses resources efficiently. Beyond that, the process looks to the future hoping that new technologies can make this historic building an even richer resource for the community not only by demonstrating its continuing viability but it’s enhancing its value to this and future generations.

As someone who for several years was deeply involved in the work of historic preservation, I can attest that this is the value of such work. The days of “tear it down and build something shiny and new” (as we did in the 1970s with what was known as “urban renewal”) taught us some important lessons, not the least of which was that a disregard for the historic fabric of our communities cuts us off from our history and severs important ties with our roots, with our identity as a social community. On the other hand, preservation for its own sake can deprive future generations of important resources for their growth and development. The great value of historic preservation is to allow the past to inform us in the present in ways that move us forward.

St. Luke’s will soon undertake a capital campaign to make some much needed modifications to its physical plant. Each of these changes and improvements is designed to preserve treasures received from those who have gone before in ways that will help us serve our community better and will enable generations to follow fulfill the mission entrusted to them by Jesus by being an active and welcoming presence in the wider community.

In some ways, this mission has never changed. It is still the mission of the gospel. But now that mission has transformed to meet a new generation in a new and ever-changing world and we need different tools to meet its challenges. Truly, what’s old must become new again.