As you can see from the pictures the pews are complete, toilets and lights almost done and only the work surface and sink to go in the kitchen. Once that’s done, carpet, pipes back for the organ and tidying up!! Definitely on the countdown!!!!
The kitchenette is coming on, and the plasterwork and structure of the toilets and cupboards is pretty much there.
As you can see from the photos, the font has now been moved to its new position. If you recall, the font has been for many years to the left as you go through the main door. However this would be in the way of the slope for disabled access to the toilets in the tower base, and so a very creative idea was to place it in the middle of the main aisle. As you can see it is perfect! We can’t believe that it’s not been there for 1000 years.
Around the font the pews will be replaced, but cut down so they provide adequate movement around the font – the gorgeous display for Christmas in the font is by Averille Milburn, our wonderfully talented flower expert.
You can see from the other photo that the circular seating has developed further, and that the heating has started to go in – there will be a fight for those seats in the winter (apart from this isn’t the normal worship space, but the new community space!)
Behind the right-hand seating is where the kitchenette will go, not much there at the moment apart from lots of electrical wiring.
We will keep you updated throughout the project . . .
This week more progress has been made on the monastic style seating at the back – this is important not only to rest on when sitting there, but also to mask the view of the kitchenette in the far corner. The last thing we want is for the kitchen to be the first thing people are when entering the church!!
The slope is of course the disabled access ramp to the tower base where the toilets are to be located.
We were very excited this morning to find that the joiners had been this week and the first structure of our building work has taken place. The curved area will provide seating, the far corner will be the kitchenette an the opposite side to the kitchenette will house the slope providing disabled access to the toilets in the tower base. You can see the location of these in the photos as well.
As part of the building works at the west end of church, a number of items have had to be removed to provide the space for the ramp, kitchenette and new ‘monastic style’ seating. Some of the old storage units are gone (which we have now a much better way of storing service sheets), 12 pews (sold to congregation members) and of course the old pipe organ.
Since installing the new digital Viscount Physis organ in 2010, our old pipe organ console has been in the tower base and the pipes still in situ on the first floor of the tower. Not wanting to simply throw out what could be a good organ for the right church, we endeavoured to find a new loving home for it.
Luckily the answer to this came – from Germany! A church needed a new organ and so in September two people (Oliver and Sonia)and a van came over to spend time meticulously dismantling the organ for transit over to Germany.
