A CLOSE examination of Belmont Abbey has revealed the first signs of serious deterioration.

To halt the decline remedial action should be taken now to avoid facing huge restoration costs in the future says a new report.

It is bad news for the order of Benedictine monks who have been told the bills for early work on the Abbey church could be around £500,000 and that on the monastery where they live, £300,000.

The Abbot of Belmont, Father Paul Stonham says the order does not have that kind of money.

The Belmont Abbey General Trust ordered an investigation into the state of the abbey and monastery in 1996 and following its report made an unsuccessful bid for Lottery and English Heritage money.

A more recent inspection has taken place resulting in a warning that some work needed to be carried out now.

The bursar, Father John Kinsey said priority had to be given to the refurbishment of the Abbey church and because it was a Grade 2 Star building it was hoped it would qualify for grants.

The Belmont parish has applied to English Heritage for £106,000 for next year mostly to be spent on lead and valley guttering on the roof to stop water seeping in.

"It is just one of 350 applications to English Heritage for next year's available money and it will be the end of the year before we know if it is successful,'' said Father John.

Other work would have to be undertaken during the next five to 10 years and more cash help needed to be sought.

As far as the monastery was concerned the order had to find the money for repairs, a major task which it faced with concern.

In its report on the Belmont complex, Remmer (UK) Ltd of West Sussex say the building, erected in the mid 1850s was exposed to severe weather conditions coming in from the west and Black Mountains.

While it appeared to be in good condition, close examination showed that the first signs of serious deterioration were present.

Erosion on the exposed elevations had already caused severe loss of detail to precious carvings and the actual face of the stone.

'Remorseless onslaught'

As a result of the 'remorseless onslaught' of the weather, water had found its way into the building, resulting not only in damage to the aesthetics of the building, but also, potentially to its structure.

The report speaks of the ingress of water in the stone causing not only damage but the formation of moss, algae and fungi.

Considering its age and location, overlooking the Wye Valley, the building is said to have fared well in such an exposed position.

But various features were suffering badly from erosion and the subsequent breakdown of the local pink sandstone.

It warned the erosion was causing some features, such as the chimneys and parapet copings, to be structurally unsound and a hazard to both the building and people below.