A WEST Devon church will be celebrating with warmer services in future ? thanks to an ingenious new screen and the donation of a very special waterproofing ingredient. The St Thomas a Becket Parochial Church Council at Sourton recently charged Okehampton architect, Nils Westman, with designing a screen to infill the tower arch in the church. The PCC said it needed to find a way for the church to retain heat as, particularly during winter months, it was becoming unbearably cold. Mr Westman said: ?My design brief was to design a glazed screen to infill the tower arch. The screen had to be as discreet as possible. ?The solution was to design a load-bearing glass screen with no visible means of support; the supporting framework would be recessed into the wall plasterwork. ?This meant that the original plasterwork, which has a specialist waterproofing additive, Pudlo, installed in 1914, had to be removed in the area where the screen was installed.? The problem Mr Westman faced was to find a comparable waterproofing additive. Pudlo was the world?s first, and is now the most widely used, additive that makes concrete watertight and resistant to corrosion. It therefore prevents erosion and ensures the long life and protection of the concrete it is applied to. In 1914, the Rev W J Whitwell of Sourton Vicarage used Pudlo to plaster the walls at St Thomas a Becket Church. PCC secretary, Jennifer Pratt, searched through the church files and discovered a series of letters dating back to June 3 1914, between Mr Whitwell and the manufacturers of Pudlo. After further research, it came to light that Pudlo is not only still manufactured in 2007, but has become a world leader in its field. The company that manufactures Pudlo is the David Ball Group PLC, a major multinational company that has been involved in many famous, high-profile projects all over the world. David Ball, company chairman, is a Church of England minister and has taken a keen interest in the on-going works ? his company kindly donated Pudlo free of charge to Okehampton Glass Ltd, the contractors carrying out the installation at St Thomas a Becket. Mr Ball said: ?It is pleasing to see how the material has stood the test of time and I am glad to have had the opportunity to help with new works.? Now parishioners can enjoy the pleasure of a warmer service ? and the knowledge their church shares similar construction ingredients as those in such buildings as the Channel Tunnel, Wembley Stadium and the Royal Albert Hall. Geoff Harris, the church?s vicar, said: ?The glass has made a real difference to the temperature and it has stopped the gales howling in through the tower! ?It looks good and has certainly enhanced the feel of the place. ?The church has needed something like this for a while now and it has made it much more comfortable.?
