Progress to date – 20 May 2022
Its beginning to look much busier in and around the church. The most obvious indicator of progress is the massive waste container outside The Cornerstone. Sadly much of the floor has to be thrown away but we have recovered:
- grilles which are now decorating walls and gardens around the Parish
- wood from the dais which is now being crafted into saleable articles by members of the congregation (watch this space to see some ideas of what will be available)
- some of the Victorian tiles which will be relaid in the new floor around the floor memorials
- some of the parquet for which the demolition contractors have an outlet.
Inside the church, the team from Paye our stonework contractor has been lifting the very heavy floor ledgers. These are then wrapped and will be stored in the South porch until the screed for the floor has been laid.
The mezzanine in the former choir vestry is no more and the casing for the warm air heater has now been removed. Duct work will follow shortly.
We had our first formal progress meeting on Wednesday this week. The architect has agreed that the protection for our historic fabric is adequate and the screen at the west porch is now encased in plywood so that the porch will be the main route out when the large scale demolition takes place and the concrete slab on which our floor is laid starts to be removed. The archaeologists are on standby to visit should anything “interesting” be uncovered.
Having the first progress meeting also means we are about to get our first invoice from the contractors so funds are at the forefront of our minds. In March and April we raised £13,500 – so our target for the year end of the main appeal is now £86,500. Please go to www.spaceforall.org.uk/supporting-the-project to get us a bit closer still.
Worship continues in The Cornerstone not just on Sundays (8am, 9.30 and 11.15) but also weekdays (Tuesday and Wednesday at 10 am, Thursday at 9am) and the bell ringers have access to the tower. There is still access to almost all the churchyard either through the lychgate in London Road or the double gate in Norreys Avenue. The memorials by The Cornerstone can be accessed from the Cornerstone south hall so long as that is not in use. The only recent memorials that are not readily accessible are those by the vestry door. Please contact the Parish Office if that is a problem for you. One other little change: there will be a temporary letter box on the right hand side of the Cornerstone entrance.
