North-west corner building works

We have started building works in the north-west and south-west corners of St Mary’s Church. The main reason for this work is to address damp by removing existing panelling and plaster, repairing pointing in the stonework and improving drainage and ventilation.

As part of this work, we have removed some of our pews. Instead of putting the existing pews back in place, we are:

Levelling the floor to create a new, flexible open space. This can be used for wheelchair seating, overspill from our family corner, small groups and more, whilst still allowing us to put out chairs for busy services where needed.
Replacing the temporary AV desk with a bespoke solution, making it more comfortable for operators, matching the look of our existing furniture, improving robustness of our service streaming and future-proofing what we do.
Re-routing existing cables and pipework so that they’re better hidden and more maintainable.
Creating much-needed new storage space within the church, making it easier to store things close to where they’re needed and in turn freeing up space elsewhere.

During this time there will be some changes within the church building to allow the work to take place and keep everyone safe. In particular:

Some areas of the church will be blocked off and inaccessible.
Dust covers will be placed on some parts of the church, in particular the organ and some monuments.

We are expecting all of our usual services to run as normal, although there may be some disruption to things like the availability of our Family Corner and to our service streaming. We’ll do everything we can to keep this disruption to a minimum.

Timeline

The approximate timeline for this project is as follows. This is only an estimate, as working with ancient and listed buildings can be complex and plans may need to change partway through.

Early February

Get things ready for building work to begin, set up dust screens and move our AV equipment.

Mid-February

Remove the existing pews and wall panelling.
Remove the current pew flooring.

Late February and early March

Remove existing plasterwork and damaged pointing to the internal walls.
Replace the flooring at a lower level, using a mix of new and reclaimed timber.
Make adjustments to the stone flooring in the north west corner of the building.

Mid-March

Fit new cabling and sockets.
Re-route plumbing.
Improve external drainage around the corner of the building.
Remove inappropriate pointing on the external walls.

Mid-Late March

Start work in the south west corner of the building (Family Corner) to remove notice boards and plaster.

Late March and early April

Finish work to stone flooring, using a mixture of existing, reclaimed and new flagstones.

April

Make adjustments to the stone flooring in the south east corner of the building.
Replace and repair internal pointing where needed.
Finish joinery and electrical work and reinstall AV equipment.
Weather permitting, replace and repair external pointing where needed.