A heritage project in Wrecclesham became a personal mission for a carpenter after the loss of his father.

Danny Tongeman, of Besp-Oak Carpentry, approached St Peter’s Church in Wrecclesham after realising the lychgate outside the church’s graveyard was in disrepair.

Local tradesmen teamed up to restore the structure, alongside Rivendale Roof Tilings and his next-door neighbour, blacksmith Andrew Crook of Andrew Crook Metalsmiths Limited.

A lychgate is traditionally a roofed gateway to a churchyard, formerly used at burials to shelter a coffin until the clergyman’s arrival.

Danny restored what he could but said some of the original timber columns could not be saved due to rot. He incorporated sections of the original frame where possible.

Some of the arches and beams are made from salvaged wood from the original gate, while the metalwork had to be restored. This included a coffin stool, which Danny said could be as old as the gate itself. The metal was painted black to protect it and to make the oak frame stand out.

However, one part was not painted black out of respect for the church. The cross within the lychgate was instead painted gold.

Farnham Town Council honoured the Revd Jacqueline Drake-Smith, the former vicar at St Peter’s Church, by contributing towards her lychgate repair appeal.

Danny said he is yet to see Ms Drake-Smith but added she is welcome to visit at any time.

The task was anything but easy, as Danny had to transport the original structure back to his workshop in Frensham.

Danny said: “It was a difficult project. I did have a bit of a personal issue along the way as my father passed away 15 days into this process. I started on September 15, and then on September 30 he passed.

“So it really became a very personal project, because I realised what it meant for the community. Speaking to everybody about the gate and what it meant to them, it became a personal project as the loss of my father merged with everybody else’s sentiment.

“It meant something to the community, but it also really meant something to me. I had some conversations with my dad around my work and about the project just before he died.

“So it became a special project, and I don’t think I will ever forget it.”

Danny impressed residents with a heartfelt talk about the lychgate, speaking about his self-trained career in carpentry and how his father’s passing added another layer of meaning to the project.

One resident who stood out to Danny was Susan, who regularly came to encourage him and praise his work during the early stages.

Wrecclesham Conservation Group member Myung Hye Chun said: “When Danny mentioned his father passing, the gate became something more reflective and personal.

“I started volunteering to help clear up the church from my own personal grief. As it is a lychgate, it has united people who are grieving and this is something very symbolic.”