Work Progress
This section shows the progress of the works underway to convert this former church into a Community Hub.
The first phase of works required the removal of most of the pews to open up the space in the main hall (Nave) and the North Transept.
Some of the pews have been sold to local residents and the remainder are being kept in storage.
The ends of the pews that were against the wall will need to be repaired, this will be done before the pews are returned to the hub to be reused.
The next phase of the works involved the removal of the raised floor in the Baptistry. This is part of the plan to have all the internal floor at one level to make the hub more accessible.
Over the years the ceilings have fallen into a poor state and presented a health and safety hazard. Here we see the works being done to make repairs to the ceiling in the main hall.
The font has been moved back to under the window to make it easier to work on the kitchenette and toilet.
The font relocation was under the supervision of the experienced stonemason, Jonathan Protheroe; seen here with John Wilding repositioning the font.
The tendering process for the contract was supervised by the project architect Trevor Hewett, and the contract was awarded to Firth Construction Ltd, a local firm based in Presteigne.
It is planned for the work to be completed by the end of September.
We are delighted to have Firth Construction on board and the work was started within days of winning the contract.
Because the Chancel section of the building will remain unchanged. A temporary protective screen was installed over that and an extra cover placed over the church organ.
All the remaining pews and old heating system pipework have been removed.
The old wooden floors have been taken up, as shown in the photo. Whilst the work is in progress a temporary board floor will be installed.
These sections of floor will eventually be replaced with new level wood floor.
Here we see the framework of the Kitchenette constructed.
On the opposite side of the Kitchenette we have the framework for the WC in place
These images show the work done on the floors in the main hall, and transepts to get the floor level.
The path from the Lych gate to the Porch needed to be excavated to put in the services. Once this work is finalised a new surface will be laid and the cobbles in the Lych gate restored.
The photos below show the process of converting a window on the North Transept into an emergency fire door. The new Bath stone was all hand cut by a master stone mason to match the existing stone at the top of the window. The stained glass was carefully removed, then restored by a stained glass specialist and the door made to measure by a master joiner.
