We held our first Open Day in November 2022 to gather peoples' views on whether we should go ahead with plans for a new meeting room for the church adjacent to our Grade 1 listed building. We held a photographic and painting competition for everyone about the church and this was the basis for our on-line Advent Calendar in December.
St Peter’s has been a place of Christian worship since the 7th century and as the oldest building in the village, it deserves our care and attention.
A little known fact is that St Peter's only had electricity installed in 1953 and water in the early 1980s. We have inherited a building that is solid, well-maintained with comfortable seating. But sadly
We have
* Inadequate Kitchen and Toilet facilities, in the vestry, not accessible to people with mobility problems. No baby changing facilities.
* Nowhere for people to mingle before or after special events such as funerals and baptisms, or even coffee after church
* Poor heating. (Our lighting has now been upgraded to LED lights and we are delighted with the results)
We need
* Better kitchen facilities and toilets which are accessible for all
* Somewhere for people to see the history of the church and village and to learn about the flora and faune around us.
* A small hall for pre and post funeral and baptismal gatherings
* Somewhere for the vicar to talk to prospective marriage partners, people grieving, and for us to hold children and youth group gatherings
* A building fit for the 21st century
Please click the button above to give what you can to our Meeting Room fund.
Latest news as at 1 October 2024:
During the spring and eearly summer we spent many hours producing revised Statements of Significance and Need and a full Appraisal of all the Options for the possiible location for a new meeting room. All the relevant documents were passed to the Dioceesan Advisory Committee (DAC) in time for their July meetiing. They included suggestions for where we might find space for extra storage at the church without using the new room. The DAC recognised the amount of effort we had put in to produce this material and gave their support. They asked us to produce sketches of a possible building.
We subsequently requested a site meeting in September at which the location and size of the building was accepted as being alongside the south chancel where there was a vestry until 1903. Sketches will now be produced for a building 7m x 9m either free standing or attached to the church. Proposals for extra storage space within the church were accepted.
Copies of the documents submittd to the DAC are available o request or can be seen at the church.
The following is the report to the Annual Parochial church Meeting (APCM) held on 28 April in the church.
A New Meeting Room for St Peter’s
As we know – this is a marathon not a sprint – but to do nothing is not an option. Linda Gilley
We held a second Open Day on April 1st 2023 with two presentations of the plans for our new meeting room at the Tewin Memorial Hall on Lower Green. Here is the report from that session:
We welcome your feedback and consultation on our building project.
Since then we have revised our designs and have put them forward to the local planning authority for a pre-App assessment and they have also been seen by the herts Conservation Officer and the Diocesan Advisory Committee which includes a number of represntatives from the following heritage organisations: The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, Historic England, The Victorian Society, Historic Buildings and Ancient Places and The Churches Building Council. See above.
We already have a substantial bequest to start off our fund for this project. However, all donations are welcomed and encouraged.
This was our second design sent for Pre-App in autumn 2023 and seen by all interested parties. Having now done a further reappraisal of the site we shall be submitting our thoughts on this to the diocese for their consideration. (May 2024)
This is an artist's impression of the new building. Of course you will never see it like this because of all the yew trees that are in the way!
The initial plans are being considered by the Diocesan Advisory Committee at St. Albans Diocese, and following further consultation with the village, Parish Council and the Planning Authority; once funds have been secured, we hope to go ahead with this project within three years. We showed our plans at an open day on April 1st and here are some photos from the event:
We first discussed the history, pointing out that the church had gone through many changes over the past 1000 years.
Susannah Underwood, our vicar, showed the needs for our church community.
Yasmin Shariff, our architect, displayed our initial plans for the new meeting room with updated toilet & kitchen facilities.
And then we had some lovely cakes.