Re-ordering All Saints' Church Interior 2007

Progress with the Re-ordering of the Church

As everyone will no doubt have seen, the disabled access work is now essentially complete (although a proportion of the payment will not be made until a final inspection about a year after opening, when all will receive final clearance, or remedial work be undertaken).

Many members of the congregation feel that the work has turned out if anything better than we expected. The stonework has been replaced and added to in a very sympathetic manner, which in a few years will not be distinguishable from the original Victorian work, two 18th century gravestones have been rescued from under the steps, and the new turf is probably the best stretch of grass in the whole churchyard! It was disappointing that regulations prevented the dropped kerb stones being in line with the new entrance, but at least we were able to obtain a pair of these, one either side of the gateway itself. The extra grippy surface applied to the ordinary tarmac at the end of the work seems to be a very effective safeguard.

It would have been wonderful of course to be able to use the money we have spent on this on further improvements to the facilities of the church building itself, and not to face a year or so of very tight budgeting. Apart from the assistance members of the congregation are able to draw from the new access, however, we have been pleased also to learn of others in the village who have found they can now visit the church again when they never thought this would be possible.

                                                                 Stephen Clifford - June 2009

The proposed re-ordering of All Saints', which I wrote about in July, has now been approved by the Diocese of Lichfield. Like us, after careful consultation with bodies such as English Heritage, the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings and the Churches Conservation Trust, they believe that the changes to be made will enhance the building and provide suitable space for storage and social gatherings.

Aesthetically the church will benefit from the uncovering of the central aisle, which was partly carpeted in the late 1970's. We envisage that this will visually elongate the church and restore the sense of flow between the nave and chancel which was originally intended by Charles Lynam in 1872.

The removal of the pews in the side aisles and the rear pews in the nave will also provide a sense of space within the church. At present the pews in the side aisles do not match the pews in the nave and there is a feeling that they do not do justice to the overall impact of our church. Four of the pews in the north aisle were re-positioned in the late 1970's so that they faced into the main body. The pews now appear both aesthetically inappropriate and unnecessary for the general life of our congregation.

The space provided by the removal of the pews will be appreciated by the groups that currently meet within the building, and will facilitate the new opportunities for mission which have been incorporated into our Mission Action Plan and Living Streams ministry. It will also enable us to have a new servery area and storage cupboards within the main body of the church.

Lack of storage has for many years been a problem within All Saints'. Our stacking chairs are quite visibly stored in the Egerton Chapel and at certain times of the year our building appears cluttered. By making the present kitchen into a storage room and by providing additional cupboards, this problem will be significantly reduced.

Removal of the side pews will also allow us to increase the provision of radiators. Whilst the boiler is relatively new, we currently have few radiators and the church is often cold in winter. This deters some people from coming and has a negative impact upon our overall mission.

Visually the church is also limited by the somewhat tired impression made by the altar covers and the curtains which used until recently to hang behind the top altar. The curtains were installed in the late 1970's when the reredos was removed and sadly lost. By recovering the top altar and constructing a new reredos we will be creating a focal point for the church which is keeping with the rest of the building. The arched theme which is present in all of the new funiture is a reflection of the dominant arches within the nave and the arched windows throughout the church, a motif which is repeated at the foot of the main east window. We are also experimenting with the use of our lovely Jacobean Altar table as a central feature at the head of the steps in the nave. The Lady Chapel is also due to be re-ordered so that comfortable seating is available for small services and occasional meetings.

We have some architects' drawings of the new floor plan of the church and the views inside to west, north and east, and these can be read by those with Adobe Acrobat Reader enabled on their computers by following these links.

Barry Wilson
December 2006