THE final ‘Fallen Angel’ is scheduled to retake her rightful place on high, as work to return her to a pedestal above Launceston’s St Mary Magdalene Church porch door takes place this week.

Following the collapse of three decorative ceiling timbers in July, 2013, a survey of the entire ceiling revealed a number of the church’s timbers were loose and emergency restoration was needed to ensure the safety of visitors at a cost of £7,500. The church was forced to close for several weeks.

It is thought the intricately carved and decorated oak angels, bosses and ribs, date from the church’s construction between 1511 and 1524.

Planning permission was obtained from Truro Diocese for the 1,458 individual timbers to be re-fixed in place with screws to ensure they do not fall again. With an initial estimate of £10,000, which quickly grew to one of £22,000 when costs of additional scaffolding were included, the publicity campaign to ‘Save Our Ceiling’ began.

After 15 months of successful fundraising events and grants it is hoped the target amount will be reached. The events included choir concerts; Christmas tree festivals; bingo evenings; tea at the Rectory and a sponsored Saints way walk. Donations were received from the public for the ‘Adopt an Angel’, ‘Befriend a Boss’ and ‘Rescue a Rib’ initiatives and grants were received from Cornwall Historic Churches Trust, May Gurney Charity Legacy and All Churches Trust Ltd.

Work by R Worth and Sons builders to screw-fix the ceiling timbers back in place started on August 4 and was completed by August, 18 after almost 3,000 screws were used to hold the timbers in.

The ‘Fallen Angels’ have been displayed in a glass case, loaned to the church by Lawrence House Museum — with the final angel being scheduled for re-fitting above the porch doorway this Wednesday (September 30).