We released designs from Matthew Lloyd Architects for St Mary’s Walthamstow on 28 October 2018 as part of our Great Design Sunday. Our Creative Church project, made possible by the Heritage Lottery Fund and other funders (including you, we hope!), will make St Mary’s a centre of Arts, Prayer and Transformation with a building that will be open during the week, in the day, with an incredible cafe run by wonderful local partners who currently run a popular local coffee shop.
The changes to the building and church campus will include an extension which will include an additional entrance into the building, a gallery/ community meeting space and church offices; outside, the car park will be turned into a landscaped public area for pedestrians to enjoy.
In the church itself, we will take out the pews and replace them with beautiful and flexible cathedral-style seating. A new kitchen will be installed, with a glass door to serve customers outside and for deliveries. The current entrance will be preserved, as will the current door, but a glass door will be put in front of it with the existing door open behind it.
We will install new lighting, movable screens, a new sound system and renovate the two back vestries as meeting spaces. The church’s two existing toilets will be renovated and three additional toilets will be added. A new door next to the side chapel will make it easier to access the back vestry and a new staircase will make the gallery more accessible. Inconspicuous storage will be added throughout the building to allow us to hide away chairs and tables. A new Heritage space will also be added as you walk through the current entrance into the building.
Outside, the render will be repaired and cleaned and the roof will be repaired.
We’re excited to make St Mary’s the heart of Walthamstow again! We hope to begin work in early 2020 and are planning on the project taking 12 months and costing approximately £2.9 million in total, with approximately £190,000 yet to be raised from local people and additional outside funders.
