January in Pictures - Part II

Week 3 – Not for the faint hearted

With the scaffolding around the main body of the Tower now complete, the team begin the heady job of extending the framework up the spire.

    









                         




Week 4 – That’s a lot of bubble wrap!
The historic stone pillars are one of the many structures in the church to be protected from damage during the works with layers of bubble wrap.

All photographs (c) 2012, Natalie Nolan, David Goodwin, Richard Taylor

Coming up in February.......

• The Adam de Brome gains a storey
• The bells are removed from the Tower for conservation
• We meet the people behind the hard hats

Lucinda Williams, Heritage Education & Volunteers Officer

January In Pictures

With our photography team now firmly established we can begin our new feature. Each month we will bring you an update on the works as they happen, through the eyes of our photographers. 

Week 1 - The big spring clean. 
The beginning of the year saw staff members, parishioners and clergy rallying together to clear the church ready to hand over the North East corner to the contractors in the second week.

     

The Vaults & Garden Cafe

The Old Library

The Shop

The Vestry

Week 2 – No going back
The wait is finally over as the contractors move in and begin to erect the protective screens between the De Brome Chapel, the Chancel and the Nave.

 


Coming up in week 3......The tower and spire disappear beneath the scaffolding!



Photographs 1-5 (c) David Goodwin
Photograph 6 (c) Richard Taylor

Lucinda Williams, Heritage Education & Volunteers Officer

January 2012 - Project Update

After the New Year we came back to a flurry of activity in readiness for handing over the north-east corner of the church to the building contractor. The vestry/sacristy has been moved to a new temporary location in the former Vaults Café office. The shop has been temporarily moved to the north-west corner of the church near the font. There has been a lot of clearing and sorting of various parts of the church. We are working closely with the contractor to develop the protection for the organ in such a way that it can be played during the next phase of the work, although there will inevitably be some muffling of the sound.

From the 11th of January the shop, De Brome Chapel, chancel, café, library and tower will be in the possession of our contractor EJ Beard. The next few months will undoubtedly be some of the most challenging for all concerned however I hope to update you on the progress of the work whenever I can. Working with our Education Officer Luci, we aim to give you more information on some of the processes and rationale for various aspects of the work in due course.

Sophie Slade, Project Coordinator

Easy Does It!

Back in December we were able to capture some extraordinary footage of 21st century scaffolding being lifted carefully into place without damaging any of the church's delicate 14th century features. It is worth sparing a thought at this time for the workmen and tradesmen who were responsible for building this magnificent church over 700 years ago – without cranes or hard hats!

With thanks to Natalie Nolan for her persistance in recording this footage.

Lucinda Williams, Heritage Education & Volunteers Officer

Christmas heralds a new beginning for St Mary's

As the clergy prepare for one of the busiest weeks in the church calendar, the project team are putting the final preparations in place to ensure that the works can begin unhindered in the New Year. After many months of planning, fundraising and development meetings the project will finally get underway in the North East corner of the church on 9th January. Some of the first changes that visitors will notice will include:

· The Vaults and Gardens Café will be closed from 3rd January so that both the café and the old library above it can be refurbished.

 · Partitions will be erected beneath the organ and between the nave and the Adam de Brome chapel to allow for conservation works to be carried out (the nave will remain accessible via the high street entrance until the summer)

· The scaffolding will continue to grow up the tower and spire in preparation for stonework repairs and cleaning

Over the past few weeks the scaffolding has been advancing at a steady pace and, as I write this entry, it has now reached the viewing platform at the base of the spire. The photographs below were taken by a member of our new volunteer photographer team on the day when some of the key loading beams were carefully lifted into place.

All photographs courtesy of Natalie Nolan, Volunteer Photographer

I would like to take this opportunity on behalf of all of the staff, clergy and project team at St Mary’s to wish all of our readers and visitors a Merry Christmas and we look forward to you joining us in the New Year to share more of our exciting project developments.

Lucinda Williams, Heritage Education & Volunteers Officer

December 2011 - Project Update

As the scaffold grows taller, progress continues behind the scenes to prepare for the commencement of the works in January and the team have turned their attention to communications. On Sunday the 27th of November there was a drop-in session in the Old Library for parishioners and visitors alike. Members of the project team were on hand to answer questions about the project and plans were available to view. On Sunday 11th December the church's Education Officer Lucinda Williams will be in conversation with Canon Brian Mountford during the morning Eucharist discussing details of the new education and volunteers programme and how we plan to bring the stories of St Mary's to life.

Photograph by Natalie Nolan

On Thursday the 17th of November the development project was featured in the Oxford Times and we hope that the Times will run several follow-up features on various aspects of the project. To view this article, click HERE.

More details will follow in future newsletters on a community project to decorate the hoarding around the church and we anticipate that the scaffold will be have printed images focusing on the heritage of St Mary’s on several sides of the tower.

Sophie Slade, Project Coordinator

Project Leaders Speak Out

In the second instalment of our staff interviews, we spoke to two fundamental members of the project team, Sophie Slade and Nigel Aplin, who are responsible for managing and delivering the major project outcomes and making sure that everything runs as smoothly as possible.

Sophie Slade, Project Coordinator
"Taking up the role of Project Coordinator has been a fascinating and enjoyable experience. I feel very honoured to be tasked with overseeing such a complex and important project. St Mary's is one of the most interesting historic buildings I have known and the various communities and visitors who benefit from it help to bring it to life. I am most looking forward to seeing the freshly conserved and repaired building emerge. It will also be a joy to see improved facilities for the staff and visitors."

Nigel Aplin, Project Manager
"As project manager for the building works, I am delighted to see the scaffolding being erected around the tower and spire, ahead of the main construction works commencing in the New Year. This is the culmination of nearly four years leading the Church and designers through the project process, working through several steps to get us to this position:

1. Feasibility stage: taking the initial ideas and identifying the scope and budget cost of the works; formulating a plan and programme to undertake the works; and identifying ways of funding the project.

2. Concept Design stages: successfully bidding for Heritage Lottery Fund development money to develop the building design ideas; develop our thoughts on the how the Church can tell its story and involve the community.

3. Enabling building works: provide an office base (and new toilets!) for the Church to occupy during the main building works.

4. Design Completion: successfully bidding for the major Heritage Lottery Fund implementation grant, having raised over £1million to allow us to bid. This allowed us to complete our design work and detail how the education and interpretation programmes will work. We have followed this by tendering the building works over the past months.

For me, one of our greatest challenges has been in programming the works whilst keeping parts of this iconic building safely open. The Church wished to remain at least partially open for worship and ministry during the works, so either the Nave or Chancel will be kept open. This has required early remodelling of the Narthex office, providing a new kitchenette and toilets, which can be independently used throughout the building works. Additionally, the tower and café are major attractions, particularly busy during the summer months, providing income and local employment, so these are programmed to be closed during the quieter winter months, which provide a technical challenge for accessing and repairing the stonework. We are now working with Beard, our building contractor, to minimise disruption and ensure smooth running during the works.

Whilst four years seems a long time, we are still on target to complete the main building works in late 2012, as originally planned. This reflects the dedication and enthusiasm of the Church and its designers to meet the target dates set out at the start of this journey. "