The Friends meet p e r i o d i c a l l y , a p p r o x i m a t e l y monthly, at 7:00pm, usually in the Community Room at the Church, to plan and organise fundraising and other events and to discuss funding needs. There is no fixed committee membership so if you would like to be involved just give us a call and turn up! For information on church events, service times and for contact details for church matters, please visit St Mary’s own website at A Church Near You. Next Meeting . The next meeting will be the AGM held on Thursday 11th July 2024 in St Mary’s church starting at 7.00pm, followed by a Business Meeting Everybody welcome. Minutes of the last and all previous meetings can be found in the Archive . The Friends of St Mary’s, Bacton is a registered Charity No 1106579. By using this site you agree to our Terms and Conditions Site by Andy Last updated 2nd July 2024
Project: New Heating System and More Flexible Seating for Community Events. Objective: • Improve flexibility of central space by modify pews to make them removable. • Install cabling for under-pew heating. • Fit new under-pew heaters. Background: It has long been a topic of discussion as to how the space within the church could be made more flexible to make it easier to put on community events. It has also long been apparent that the current heating in the church is inefficient and needs to be replaced with a more effective and eco-friendly system. Electric under-pew heaters are the recommended method of heating which requires cabling to be installed under the floor. This will entail the temporary removal of the pews providing the opportunity for the necessary socket fittings to be installed to make the pews removable. Budget: Not budget has been set (by the Friends) but a sum of £4,332 has already been granted to the PCC to cover part of the costs of this work. Further funds may be requested by the PCC for which the Friends will be looking for suitable fundraising opportunities. Current Progress The pews have been removed and stored off-site allowing the flooring to be lifted. Subsequent inspection of the flooring and substructure showed it to be badly affected by dry rot. This needs to be treated or the timbers replaced before further work to install the cabling for the under-pew heating or to make the pews removable can continue.
M A K E A D O N A T I O N M A K E A D O N A T I O N
Pews in the centre aisle Centre aisle flooring revealed Dry-rot affected timbers exposed Flooring substructure removed ready for replacement
The pews in the centre aisle to be removed.
Pews removed revealing flooring
Flooring removed exposing dry-rot affected substructure.
Dry-rot affected substructure removed ready for cabling to be laid and new substructure to be installed
Photos courtesy D Chambers. The cabling for the under-pew heaters has now been installed and the flooring replaced. The pews have also been adapted so that they can be removed to provide the flexibility for more events to take place in the main body of the church.