Alcester
Church House
Restoring Alcester Heritage for Community Use
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The refurbishment of this important heritage property enables St Nicholas Church to provide modern facilities for its functions and a central meeting place for the community of historic Alcester.
Outstanding Work : Donation details : Latest News : Events and Photos : Tour of Ground floor : Booking
The existing 7m by 6.5m Edwardian Main Hall (Mission Room), with resurfaced floor, new heating, new kitchen and toilets, is available for use.
For Hire Conditions and to book, please enquire: 01789 763723.
For more pictures - Click to go to Photo Albums and open Album 11 'New features'
The Main Hall (Mission Room) - redecorated, with new heating and lighting
The kitchen The ladies toilet
The kitchen includes drinks boiler, refrigerator, freezer, dishwasher, and 90cm electric range cooker with two ovens and five station ceramic hob. Separate hand wash basin meets catering standards. Serving hatch through to hall.
Hirers will need to provide their own cooking utensils and plates.
The redecorated hall has new heating and a resurfaced floor and, with modern new kitchen and toilets, is available for use.
The disabled toilet is also available - temporary steps await re-grading of access path.
The office is finished ready for users to fit out.
The wing roof and chimneys have been retiled and repaired
Please contact Richard Osborne (01789 763509) to view.
Visit the Events and Photos page to see some pictures of recent activity.
Click here to see all the photo albums of refurbishment progress
The Edwardian façade and Main Hall (opened in December 1912 as the Mission Room) at the front of Church House conceals the structure of a mediaeval dwelling spanning over 500 years of history. The Grade II listed building stands at the end of historic Butter Street, opposite St Nicholas Church and next to the old Rectory. To its side through a door lies a remnant of an ancient pathway to St Nicholas Church, now the passage to the modern Rectory beyond. The back of Church House had been a redundant stable for the old Rectory, laying derelict for many years.
With the entire building in dire need of refurbishment to meet 21st Century standards, the Church House Development Committee has so far raised and spent £170,000 to bring it back into community as well as church use.
The recently refurbished hall, with adjoining facilities is now attracting much interest.
Click here to view Photo Albums
An estimated further £70,000 is needed to complete the project:
Refurbishment of the familiar Edwardian Main Hall
(completed up to false ceiling) new false ceiling, double glazing, upper redecoration ~ £10,000
Extension to access rear and toilets in the dry ~ £18,000.
Relay and grade passage way ~ £8,000
Solar domestic hot water ~ £2,000
Completion of stairs and upstairs rooms ~ £20,000.
External store and general finishing ~ £5,000
Plus contingencies, fees and VAT etc.
Click here to see an impression of the original timber buildings and how they are being adapted for renewed use.
Click here for an edited video of Church House as it was in 2008, before the refurbishment started, by a group of pupils from Alcester High School Technology College (now Alcester Academy).
What Church House can provide for the Alcester community:
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Drop-in centre in the middle of the town
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Grade 2 former mediaeval dwelling providing a heritage focus for the public
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Heritage educational field centre for local schools visiting the town
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Meeting hall for local groups, voluntary and business
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Central help point for social needs
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Facilities for events in the Church
Church House as it was (click on a part of the layout below) - Ground floor : Upstairs : new scheme
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The Church House Development Committee, drawn from St Nicholas Alcester Parochial Church Council (PCC), and community representatives, has addressed years of neglect. It has consulted widely about the work that needs to be done and the role that the refurbished building could play in the town.
The refurbishment requires an estimated total of about £250,000, raised by applying for grants, running events and receiving donations from generous members of the community.
The Development Committee applied for Heritage Lottery funding and although short-listed in preliminaries, failed the later stage of the competition.
As a grade 2 listed building but not a Church, Church House was unable to obtain financial support from English Heritage.
St Nicholas PCC initiated the funding process in 2007 and by December 2011, together with local fund raising, £170,000 has been raised.
Fund raising lunches are run regularly, normally on 4th Thursday of the month.
Brief History Click for Key Dates
From as early as 1562 tenant deeds and census records show that the premises, once owned by the Greville family of Beauchamp Court, had been occupied as a dwelling house and a shop. Some houses in Butter Street are known to date back to 1445; parts of Church House are of similar construction.
In 1869 the property was purchased by the then Rector, who rebuilt the front to provide the main Church Hall or 'Mission Room' as it was known at the time. This was sold to St Nicholas PCC in 1910, including the kitchen, outside toilets and the adjoining Vergers Lodge. At around that time the back section was converted into a coach house and stables for the Rectory, leaving much of the original timber framework.
In 1969 the whole property was listed in this form, with the stables then still in use. The back section was eventually given to St Nicholas PCC in 1991, prior to the sale of the old Rectory, bringing the entire property into full ownership of St Nicholas PCC.
Donations to: St Nicholas PCC Treasurer, 28 Rope Walk, Alcester, B49 5DD
Or to The Rector, Revd David Capron, St Nicholas Rectory, Alcester, B49 5DB
Cheques and Standing Orders made out to Church House Development Committee
Barclays Bank, Sort Code 20-71-45, Account number 73447820
List of Donors to date Click here
Do you shop on-line? Get your store to donate to Church House!
By registering as a shopper with www.easyfundraising.org.uk, your favourite on-line stores, such as Amazon, Argos, B&Q, John Lewis, M&S, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Waitrose, and about 2000 other on-line retailers and insurers, you can instruct them to donate 2% - 5% of your order value to Alcester Church House (Registered as a cause with easyfundraising.org.uk).
Click Find a Cause: ‘Alcester Church House’. Please give it a try!