The Problem
The parish of Stanford Rivers is a large rural area consisting mostly of farm land with two communities - the village of Toot Hill and the hamlet of Little End. Nowadays all the farming is concentrated into one or two large farms with many dispersed former farm dwellings now used as houses for people who commute into London. If there are children in the family, whilst one partner commutes to work the other is left in the remote dwelling - social isolation is quite a problem. The parish church of St Margaret is situated close to the largest farm which is closer to Little End than to Toot Hill.
There used to be a village hall in Little End which was closed some time ago and although there is a small village hall in Toot Hill there are no community facilities for the rest of the parish and the church is restricted in the facilities it can provide because there is no welcoming or gathering space in the building - it is taken up with serried ranks of ancient pews.
A while ago, a local community charity used the building for a fund-raising concert but the layout of the building meant it was very difficult to provide refreshments in the interval.
The Solution
The small worshipping community at St Margaret’s are keen to adapt the church building so that it can become a facility which can be used by the wider community. Our plans involve moving the font and two disused pews and also levelling the floor so as to create an open space immediately inside the main doors. Our vision is that this space could be used to organise small events for the community such as a parent and toddler group intended to attempt to address the social isolation and also somewhere that other community groups could hold small events. In addition, with this welcoming and gathering space, it would make the church building more usable for larger events such as concerts and presentations. People with mobility issues find the current space difficult to navigate and this open space would improve inclusivity and diversity. Our plans include the purchase of moveable tables and chairs so that the use of the space can be as flexible as possible.
Our architect has prepared plans for these proposals which have been submitted to interested parties such as Historic England and the diocesan committee which considers such proposals has recommended that they be approved. The formal legal approval (faculty) has been issued.
Costs and funding
The costs are expected to be just over £20,000
We are pleased to have been granted 80% funding by the UK government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
This leaves us to raise the balance of £4,500. We hope that our friends and neighbours would wish to contribute to this endeavour.