Education & Volunteering - What's New?

In the three months since my appointment I have been consistently overwhelmed by the exciting and inspiring opportunities that St Mary’s has to offer, particularly as a learning resource. For a building with such a tremendously diverse history I have been surprised to find that there are still a number of features and stories which remain untold. The relationship between the education and interpretation teams on this project is crucial in ensuring that these stories are brought to life in a way that is both interesting to visitors and one which inspires members of the existing congregation to see their church in new and exciting ways.

  

A crucial element in building the new education programme will involve working closely with partner organisations and local schools to give them the opportunity to tell us what they would like to see and take part in when the restoration is complete. University Church is a wonderfully rich learning environment and we hope that through our consultations with a variety of different groups we will be able to encourage audiences of all ages to participate in this exciting once in a lifetime project.

Helping us to tell these stories will be a team of volunteer welcomers and guides who will look after our new Welcome Desk and deliver tours to groups of visitors. Visitors to St Mary’s come for many different reasons and the welcome desk will become a place where they can find out more about the church, collect trails and leaflets and enquire about upcoming events. To find out more about joining our new volunteer team, click HERE to contact us. The deadline for these applications is January 20th 2012.

As a result of our recent volunteer photographer recruitment campaign, I am delighted to welcome Natalie to the church to head up our photography team. Natalie is an architecture student with a particularly unusual enthusiasm for scaffolding which explains her attraction to the position! I have been delighted by the positive response to this campaign and look forward to working with Natalie and the other members of the team as they capture the restoration in all of its glory over the coming months.

Lucinda Williams, Heritage Education & Volunteers Officer

November 2011 - Project Update 2

Since the last update, the main contractor for the project has been appointed. Beard Oxford will be responsible for delivering the repairs, renovations and conservation work that forms the ‘renewal’ part of the project. There has been some delay in getting practical dates and information to those concerned due to the complicated nature of the scaffolding design. Discussions about the design for the scaffold have been ongoing since September and it was essential to finalise this design before the work could begin. Since then the pace has picked up considerably. Between now and the end of the year the contractor will be erecting the scaffold around the tower and the exterior of the nave. Access to the shop and church from the Radcliffe Square entrance will be limited while the scaffold is being erected and it is likely that access through this door will only be possible at weekends. A safe tunnel will be built shortly to maintain access to both of the Vaults entrances.

January 2012 will see the start of Phase 2 of the project. This phase will be the most challenging for clergy, staff, parishioners and visitors as the entire north-east corner will be out of bounds and we will only have the nave and narthex offices. Full details are available from the church office.

For more information about the project and to speak to members of the project team about their plans, come along to our Open Day on Sunday 27th November at 12pm. This drop-in session is an opportunity for you to ask any questions and to view some of the architectural plans.

Sophie Slade, Project Coordinator

November 2011 - Project Update

Preparations for the erection of the contractor's site compound and scaffolding to the tower is picking up place and from the 7th of November work will centre on completing the compound, providing office, toilet and catering facilities for the contractor. Work to erect the tower scaffold will centre on building an access scaffold to allow the contractor to get nearer to the areas of the tower where they will be putting in supports for the main scaffold. The shop and tower will only be accessible from the High Street entrance.

 

 Sophie Slade, Project Coordinator

St Mary's staff share their thoughts

Over the coming months we will be interviewing members of staff, new and old, to find out what they think of the plans for the redevelopment. This month we've been catching up with some of the clergy and staff who were working in the church when the funding was awarded:

 Canon Brian Mountford, vicar of St Mary's:

 “I am delighted that the Heritage Lottery Fund has decided to make this significant award to the University Church of St Mary the Virgin. It comes after long and careful consultation with local people, national bodies, and professional advisers as to what is best for this iconic Oxford building. In the process we have been helped to think about widening our educational outreach as well as the conservation of the fabric.

Everyone at St Mary’s is looking forward to being part of this challenging development and to the involvement of the local community in the process. As the work goes ahead both the church and theVaults and Gardens Cafe will be faced with considerable temporary restrictions, but the end-product will be a transformation to see St Mary’s through the next fifty years. I would also like to thank once again the Clore Duffield Foundation, the University of Oxford, several trusts and many individuals for donations already made.”

Ruth Rundle, Parish Administrator:

"Working at St Mary’s is an enormous privilege at the best of times but I feel incredibly lucky to be working here at such an exciting time in the Church’s history. I’m looking forward to seeing the transformation occur as the work progresses and even more, seeing the finished product!"

 Will Pouget, founding director of the Vaults and Garden Café:

 "We are very excited about these dramatic improvements to the building particularly those allowing us to host many more events (both private and community based) with much improved facilities allowing more ambitious menus and a greater hospitality service. We are proud also that our vision of using seasonal locally sourced organic& ethical produce has been so supported by the church and that being a part of these improvements will enable us to bring such produce to a wider audience.”

Lucinda Williams, Heritage Education & Volunteers Officer

Meet the Team

In the last month the project team have been busy preparing for the appointment of our main contractor, which will be announced shortly. Once we have the contractor on board we will be able to create a more detailed programme for the works and firm up logistical details for the staff at the church so they can make necessary preparations.

To help with the delivery and management of this exciting project, we have already recruited a number of new team members:

 

Sophie Slade, Project Coordinator 


 

Lucinda Williams, Heritage Education & Volunteers Officer 

 

Nigel Aplin, Project Manager (Construction) 


 

Oliver Caroe, Architect

With a professional project team now in place, November will see the start of Phase one of four phases of building work which are due for completion in December 2012. During this time, the improvements being undertaken will include:

· Extensive repairs to the exterior stonework, including redressing the stone on the iconic 13th-century tower for the first time in a century.

· Cleaning, conservation and restoration of the interior decorations, including windows, memorials, and choir stalls.

· Improved access and facilities for the Old Library, a room that has largely been hidden from view for centuries (funded by the Clore Duffield Foundation).

· Establish St Mary’s as an information and learning centre providing an overview and introduction to the history of the University and of the church building itself.

Lucinda Williams, Heritage Education & Volunteers Officer

September 2011 - Project Update

In the last month the project team have been busy preparing for the appointment of our main contractor, which will be announced shortly. Once we have the contractor on board we will be able to create a more detailed programme for the works and firm up logistical details for the staff at the church so they can make necessary preparations.

Meanwhile, Lucinda has been settling in and getting to know her colleagues and useful contacts. Lucinda has started to work with Pegasus School on a series of visits by the pupils to look at different aspects of the church. The Heritage Lottery Fund are very keen on maintaining an element of participation for visitors and school children to learn about the conservation of the church. Lucinda and I are looking at a range of different ways to achieve this.

Sophie Slade, Project Coordinator

St Mary's embarks on exciting new restoration project

In January 2010, University Church was awarded a £3.4 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund for the conservation and refurbishment of the church building, and the development of new learning and interpretation resources. 

As the work gets underway, visitors to the church will notice that access to certain areas is restricted whilst improvements are made. Fear not! This blog will provide you with a photographic record of the works which are being carried out behind-the scenes, together with photos of events and activities, and insights from members of the team.

St. Mary’s has been a site of Christian worship and the focus of lively religious, political and moral debates for over seven hundred years. The church was once a meeting place for the university governing body (The Congregation) and the Chancellor’s Court, as well as being home to the first Oxford University Library. The building has also played host to a number of key historical events from the trial of Cranmer in the 16th century, to the birth of the Oxford Movement and the founding of Oxfam, to name but a few.

Despite periods of intermittent remedial work, no comprehensive restoration has been undertaken since the late nineteenth century, and the interior has remained unaltered for several generations. The gradual increase in use over the centuries has placed considerable strain on the building and its facilities which means that the majority of the building’s fabric is now beyond mere maintenance.

After long and careful consultation with the local community, national bodies, and professional advisers and a rigorous application process, University Church was awarded a £3.4 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund for the conservation and refurbishment of the church building and Old Congregation House, and the development of new learning, interpretation and volunteering programmes.

Throughout this period we will be creating a number of new opportunities for members of the community, including groups and schools, to become involved with the project. If you would like to find out more about how you can be a part of this exciting new development, please contact us.

Lucinda Williams, Heritage Education & Volunteers Officer