Clive Fixes Church Steps

Kind-hearted and community-minded resident Clive Hemsley has fixed the church steps bannister railing yesterday with the help from his builder, Mark Wells.

Last month, Father Jeremy, the Rector at St Mary’s Church said that after many years of research they had found out that no one officially owned the land the steps are on and that both Oxfordshire County Council and South Oxfordshire District Council had disclaimed responsibility for the maintenance of the steps even though SODC are responsible for the maintenance of the grave yard on left side of the Church.

Clive who lives on Hart Street said, “Jenny Lloyd an Elder at St Mary’s Church contacted me and said that the situation with regard to the church steps was ridiculous and it was an accident waiting to happen and they should be fixed before thousands of people descend on the town for Henley Regatta in August.  Safety was the priority so I decided to get them fixed.”

Clive and Mark have replaced 60% of the posts and welded the original handrail on to these.  They have then painted all the ironwork and fixed them in place using resin and Postcrete.  Clive would like to thank Grace Leo, owner of the Relais Henley Hotel for providing power to complete the work.

Church Warden Robin Hartley said “It was quite a surprise to find the hand rail to the steps repaired. We had no idea that Clive had planned it. It’s a courageous and thoughtful gesture on Clive’s part.”