Restoration Work

Restoration

St John's church todayOn 2nd February 2002, the Congregation launched a Restoration Appeal to raise money for essential repairs to the fabric of the building. 

As with so many other churches, St John's suffered from neglect and poor maintenance in the late 1940s and 50s and unfortunately some of the stonework had got  into very poor condition. 

A survey revealed that we needed to spend about £60,000 on repairs.   This money was raised and the remedial works to the The tower when it was first completed in 1909stonework were carried out by Rattee & Kett in summer 2003.  We originally thought that Rattee & Kett might have had some connection with the building of the tower in 1907-1909, but it has since transpired that Messrs. H.R. and W. Franklin, of Deddington, Oxford were the original contractors.

Fundraising Events

Various events have been held over the intervening period to raise money for the Restoration Appeal; a Flower Festival in June 2003 raised around £8,500 and a Sponsored Walk by the Rector from Epping to the Saxon Church at Bradwell on the coast raised almost £7,000.00.  We have also received some funding from Charitable bodies such as Friends of Essex Churches.

The members of our congregation already give about £50,000 each year to meet the day-to-day costs of running the church.

Work in Phases

The first phase of the Restoration Appeal programme has taken in urgent repairs to the fabric of the building and has included the relighting of the church.

The sound system in the church was in need of modernisation; this has been done in part and now includes facilities to record our services for those of our members who might be ill or house bound.  We also have a T setting for hearing aid users.  It is becoming clear however, that further work needs to be done on the speaker system and this is ongoing.

The electrical wiring in the church was in very poor condition and needed bringing up to modern standards.  At the same time we have taken the opportunity to renew the lighting system and to remove the old iron pendant fittings.  Our new system is fully dimmable and flexible and allows us to show the building off to best effect and to set lighting scenes appropriate for the many different activities that take place at St John's.  The system was installed by CES Ltd.

The second phase of the appeal is currently carrying out a further range of projects:

We have started improving the disabled access to the church and provide better facilities inside the church for both disabled visitors and members of the congregation.   There is now a level route into the church.  The T-loop to support those with hearing aids has been extended into the choir stalls and the Lady Chapel.

The toilet in the Tower Room is being reorganised to make it more accessible.

Redecoration of the Church interior was begun in the late 1990s and the work on the aisles has been completed.  The Chapel of Transfiguration was created from a storage area.

The work on the bells which are rung every Sunday and for weddings was carried out in February 2009.

Work started in May 2009 to overhaul our Four Manual Organ - it is one of the finest in Essex.

Website originally designed: Piers Northam.  Last updated 15 June 2009.
Registered Charity Number 1128001.

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