P2-Stanley

Stanley

Stanley St Andrew's Church

Cover

Plan of Proposed Vestry Enlargement Stanley Church. 1922

With thanks to Rev Ingrid Owen - Jones

Plan-Vestry

Report on Building a Toilet and Kitchenette

at St. Andrew’s Church, Stanley

Background

For some years the congregation at St. Andrew’s Church in Stanley, Derbyshire had wondered whether it would be possible to build a toilet, either as an extension to the church or within the church.

The absence of these facilities often meant that people would either not be able to attend church, or, if travelling long distances to the church for weddings, baptisms and funerals, had to be directed to the local public house.

It was also deemed unwise to put on concerts in church, and the school only had limited use of the church space, as they could only ever be there for a short time before it was necessary to walk a child back to school to use the toilet.

This matter was discussed again in the early part of 2015 and it was suggested that an architect should be approached to discuss the matter. Mark Parsons, the Church’s architect from Ashbourne, was approached and he suggested a toilet being built within the existing vestry, which would create a space to incorporate a kitchenette.

Plan

Village Support and Fund Raising

Cover The church held a Village Open Meeting, which was attended by a goodly number of people, during which the plan of building a toilet was discussed.

Later, in 2017 a survey was conducted in the village, with a form going to every house. Of those who returned the survey questionnaire, all said they supported the idea of having a toilet and kitchenette in the church, and most indicated that if that were done, they would visit the church more frequently.

The PCC agreed to plans being drawn up and finally on the 19th May 2016 they voted for the project to go ahead.

Funding

It was now a time of trying to raise funds. There were several coffee mornings, donations and legacies were received and one parishioner ran a ‘guess the weight of the pumpkin’ competition by sitting in the local shop most days and encouraging customers to have a go.

Other grants were sought and received from National Lottery, Erewash Borough Council and the National Churches Trust. Finally, sufficient funds had been raised and the Church Faculty had been granted so that work could start.

Construction
The work started early in 2018 and was carried out by Andrew Redfern Joinery Ltd. of Ashbourne. The site
preparation and works took approximately 4 – 5 months to complete.

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Completion and Dedication

Dedication The construction works finished in late spring 2018 and on the 24th June 2018 the Bishop of Repton, the Rt. Rev’d. Jan MacFarlane, rededicated the now finished project. At that festive service, attended by many villagers, the Erewash Phoenix Choir and the choir of St. Andrew’s School delighted the congregation with their musical contributions. Since then, a section of pews has been taken out at the West End of the church and has been replaced by chairs, which, together with the toilet and kitchenette makes the space far more usable for meetings, social gatherings and school activities.