Butlers Marston Church
Restoration and Reordering
About the project
The time has come to address a few issues concerning the fabric of our much loved and well used Church. Like most buildings of its age, essential repairs are necessary to preserve the fabric of the building. For example, the heating system needs updating and many of the pews are badly infected with woodworm and the wooden base/platform on which they stand has started to break apart. These works, including any other changes are known as “re-ordering” and are carried out using the Church of England’s “faculty” process.
Our Church is and will remain first and foremost a place of worship. In recent years the Church has welcomed villagers and visitors to an increasing number of social and community events. Parish Council meetings, public meetings, regular concerts and the Marston Meet Up social gatherings.
The Parish Council (BMPC) has for several years looked at the need for a community space for its activities and those of parish residents. A marquee was purchased to provide such a space, but this is weather dependent, not permanent and requires many volunteers and time to prepare. Unlike other parishes, BMPC has no land to build a village hall. Even if this was an option, the ongoing running costs and maintenance would require the precept (council tax) to increase which is not what we would wish to do. BMPC and the Parochial Church Council (PCC) believe that utilising the only public building we have in the parish provides an opportunity to preserve our heritage and provide a combined space for both worship and community activities. The current layout of the Church does not lend itself well to this dual use. The BMPC and the PCC have been working together to consider how we can improve the facilities we currently have. It is important that anything we do is supported by those who use the Church now, and in the future. Furthermore, the PCC and BMPC aim to ensure that any works carried out through the reorder process will encourage more people to use the Church as a community building.
Your Views
We now want to hear your views as regular worshippers and parish residents as to what improvements/alterations/additions you would like to see in the reordering of the Church. The questionnaire link below has been designed to gather your views and to enable us to put together a concept brief.
Contact the Working Group
Butlers Marston Church
Restoration and Reorder Group
74 Beaulieu Close;
Banbury; Oxon; OX16 4FQ
Email: bmcrr.group@gmail.com
The Working Group is currently made up of three members who each bring different attributes to the research project. ROB BOWEN - Retired Architect With many years experience dealing with challenging projects and planning authorities. SIMON CORPE - Parish Council Chair Liaises with the council and secular organisations. DICK LEAPER - Church Warden Liaising with the Parochial Church Council and the Coventry Diocese