B&E Boys are pleased to announce that work has commenced on a major project at St Werburgh’s Church in Chorlton, south Manchester.
Work began on the 23 May on a project that has a duration of 26 weeks. As is usual with projects of this size, B&E Boys are teaming up with various partners to work on the contract. The Design Team comprises of the Principal Designer, Donn Management Ltd and the Architects are Kepczyk, Pearce, Sanderson. The Consultants on the project are WML Consulting Ltd, a professional practice of Civil, Structural and GeoEnvironmental Consulting Engineers and JRB Environmental Design Ltd, Mechanical and Electrical Consulting Engineers.
St Werburgh’s is in Chorlton and is in the Diocese of Manchester. The original building was completed in 1900 in classic Victoria Gothic style. Although the building is not listed, St Werburgh’s has an impressive heritage with a pitched slate roof and brickwork walls. The building also contains a timber screen commemorating the war.
The works comprise the installation of new toilets and the lowering of the Church floor to create a café. In addition, new toilets, doors, and partitions are set to be inserted. There will also be new external finishes to the entrance door and new finishes to the floor.
Everyone at St Werburgh’s is genuinely excited about the building project. The team and the local Diocese have been working on the planning and preparation of the project for 18 months. The architect was appointed in November 2020, with initial plans first drawn up in January 2021. Planning permission was granted in October 2021, and faculty funding was approved in February 2022.
The upgrade of the Church building and its facilities are an important part of the mission and ministry of St Werburgh’s, and its aim of serving the congregation and local community in the 21st century and beyond.
St Werburgh’s is clearly a forward-thinking Church. Partly out of necessity because of lockdown restrictions and partly from the acceptance that Church isn’t just about Sundays, the Church website hosts the ‘Family Faith Space.’ This is a great resource with a variety of prayer and resource tools for all the family to use at home. It gives the opportunity for anybody to dip in and out of, as they see fit.
B&E Boys have a proud tradition of working on ecclesiastical projects. Our experience of working with Clients such as The National Trust, Diocesan Boards and Independent Places of Worship, has allowed Boys to accrue an impressive portfolio of restorative projects that are sympathetic to the local environment, original structure design and decoration. For example, we have completed a number of ecclesiastical and heritage projects, including the historic Rawtenstall Unitarian Church, The Whitaker Museum in Rawtenstall, St Paul’s Church in Walkden, St James’ and The Cloisters in Waterfoot, Redhouse Farm and Village Farmhouse on the Dunham Massey Estate and Towneley Hall in Burnley.
The company has a genuine interest in bringing old buildings up to modern standard. We are proud of our work improving places of worship so that they are perfect for their congregations and their local communities.