Some ten years
ago, planning began, with APEC as architects, to restore and reorder the
church building, create better accommodation around two useful but rather
unsubstantial hall buildings nearby, and, with the local authority, improve
the surrounding open space for relaxation and children’s play. APEC
worked with the church on schemes to rationalise and improve the interior,
which had begun to resemble a warren of disparate spaces and awkward changes
of level.
Professor Welch’s 1950s scheme divided the church in half with a solid
wall, firmly separating the worshipping functions of the east end from the social
action at the west. All the proposals considered for the new scheme sought to
soften that division. A new combined entrance was developed on the south side
and that centre bay links, rather than divides, the various elements of the building.
At ground level, it is now possible to see from the café
to the west of the hall through the central narthex to the nave and eastern
sanctuary. The interior is a variety of single, double and triple height spaces,
and the judicious use of glazed partitions allows an appreciation of the building’s
functional complexity.
