New-look church opens its doors

St Nicholas Church re-opened last weekend following a year's closure to enable an ambitious programme of building works to take place.

Nineteen members of the congregation were present at 10am on Saturday, May 26, when Father William Marston led the first service, a communion, in the new-look church.

A wedding followed that afternoon before another early morning communion on Sunday. Next came the official re-opening service at 10.30am when about 125 people relished the chance to worship in the surroundings for the first time.

The dramatic change has cost well over half a million pounds to achieve. Fr William said: 'I was quite emotional at the start of the 10.30am service.

'My father died a year ago and he was a great supporter of the project. He would have been very interested in having a look around because he was in the building trade but it was not to be.'

The alterations have seen the church radically altered. The former entrance is now an office and a new entrance has been created nearby which leads directly into a modern and airy interior.

A new hall is separated from the worshipping space merely by a soundproof dividing screen rather than a walk across the car park to reduce the divide between religious and social activities. A new kitchen and new toilets complete the additions. Some features, such as the balcony, have been kept.

The need to change the church had been identified back in the early 1990s but a fundraising campaign failed to provide enough money. However, a legacy of some 300,000 from a female worshipper provided a powerful incentive to revive the propoals a few years ago.

Further bequests, more community fundraising and a 165,000 national lottery grant in 2005 enabled the scheme to be given the go-ahead.

The closure of the church during the renovations saw services usually held in the nearby Jubilee Hall and, occasionally, in its neighbouring Scout hall.

Wednesday services were held at a female parishioner's house and those on Thursdays took place in the vicarage a few hundred metres from the Elmer Road church.

Its old detached hall was demolished after having been built just before the Second World War. Its space has been occupied by a new car park.

The range of work makes the overall project the largest since the church was built in 1839. Only the creation of the former western entrance in 1949 - to celebrate the centenary - and the formation of the apse in 1977 to mark the Queen's silver jubilee can compare.

Fr William said: 'The work provides us with more space in the church. We can have 200 worshippers now, which is double what we could before. That will make it much easier for us to hold big services, which were previously difficult in practical terms.

'Having the new hall as part of the church also gives additional flexibility to hold events such as flower festivals.'

l An open week is being held from June 11 to 16 to provide parishioners with the chance to look around the extended church.