Ss Peter & Paul, Kettering
A new vision for our church
In recent years, many of the regular members of our church community have increasingly felt that the layout of the building - which was largely determined in the early 1890s - was not best suited to the needs of the church's ministry in the current age. After quite a long period of informal conversation, the PCC (the church council) unanimously passed a series of resolutions in December 2009, which said:
The current layout of the church is not suited to the mission of the church
There should be a suitable space for a permanent altar in the nave
That it is recognized that at least some of the pews would have to be removed
That the provision for children in our worship was seriously inadequate, and that children's work during the Sunday service should not have to take place in another building
That the provision both of toilets and a servery would be highly desirable.
Following those resolutions, the members of the PCC met again in February 2010, for a more informal meeting at which they dreamed dreams about what they would like the church to do and to be. They noted down their desires for the church, which formed a fuller basis for a brief for an architect. If you would like to see what they came up with, click here.
The next challenge was to find an architect to help us turn our hopes and desires for the building into reality. After considerable research, a specially appointed committee of the PCC held a day of interviews and unanimously appointed Ptolemy Dean of Ptolemy Dean Architects Ltd, to undertake a Feasability Study, to help us see how it might be possible to realize our hopes for the church building. Ptolemy worked throughout the autumn of 2010 and into the winter, and produced a report which he presented to the PCC on 2nd March, 2011. The PCC was both excited and impressed at the vision of his report, and unanimously resolved that it would continue to work with Ptolemy, asking him to help us in a process of wide consultation with the local community and the various statutory bodies that have an interest in buildings such as Ss Peter & Paul, and, once such consultation has taken place, to produce detailed architectural plans as a basis for obtaining final approval for works to take place.
The PCC was particularly impressed at the extent to which Ptolemy had researched the history of both the church and the town, and his report and presentation helped everyone present to understand more clearly how and why the church building is as it currently is, and thus to appreciate a way in which it might be developed in a manner that is sympathetic to the best of its past.
Much of what is contained in the Feasability Study is set out in the following pages:
The history of how the church relates to the town
The church how it was before the late Victorian re-ordering
Ptolemy Dean's proposals for Change
Office Address:
The Rectory
Church Walk
Kettering
NN16 0DJ
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