Adapting our church for the future

Introduction

St Mary’s Church serves the community as a place of worship and as a community asset where we have held many community events such as regular coffee mornings, concerts, training in film making, art exhibitions and more.

We are planning to make some exciting changes in the church to create more versatile / usable space, to make it more welcoming, warmer and more efficient to heat. These changes will be sensitive to the historic nature of the building, whilst making it fit for purpose in the 21stCentury.

The church has evolved since it was consecrated in 1315. Every few decades, substantial changes have been made so updating it again now is a continuation of this ongoing evolution.

Proposed Changes

There are areas of the church that need renewing. We can make it warmer, more comfortable and reduce drafts. We need adaptable space and a room for multiple purposes, such as private conversations.

This will involve moving the font, building a staircase to the Priest’s Room and renovating it. We want to exclude drafts from the church tower and make the church warmer. We will create cupboard space that is built to be in-keeping with the church fabric. This will also involve moving various memorials and removing some pews.

Our vision is for a lighter and warmer church that meets the needs of the community whilst protecting our heritage. Below are some of the improvements we are considering however the final list is subject to various approvals.

  1. A glass partition to separate the church tower from the nave. Currently an old curtain serves this function, but the glass partition will perform a better task of minimising drafts, whilst bringing more light into the church and allowing people to see into the beautiful tower. Alternatively, tower renovations may enable us to reach these objectives without the partition.
  2. New cupboards will be fitted to support the needs of the church, whilst blending in with the church fabric.
  3. A staircase to the Priest’s Room with a viewing balcony, as well as renovation of the Priest’s Room to make it a warm, comfortable meeting place.
  4. Other changes are necessary in the church to accommodate the above, such as moving radiators, improving areas of the floor and addressing areas that are in need of restoration.

How You Can Help

The changes will come at a significant cost. The church is not funded by the Church of England, it is funded entirely by the local community and charitable organisations that may make grants available. We are applying for grants and grant providers will want to know the level of support we have from the community. Please contact us via the email below, to register your interest and we will keep you up-to-date with the project as it progresses. We will not pass your details to any other organisation and we will only use your details to communicate with you about this project.

To register your interest, please email us at: Stmaryschurchframpton@gmail.com .

The number of people we have on the mailing list will be a strong indication of the level of support we have for this project.

If you would like to pledge a donation towards this project, please let us know via the same email address above.

Next Steps

The PCC will shortly be making a determination on the scope of the project. Further information on next steps will be provided following that decision, during September 2025.