20 October 2011

AN £890,000 refurbishment project has modernised St Mary’s Church, Wendover, Buckinghamshire, for generations to come.

Vicar, the Revd Mark Dearnley described how the congregation moved back into the building at Easter after 10 months of major work. The floor was replaced and the lady chapel enclosed with glass panels to provide a quiet, private area for prayer. The heating system and electrics were replaced.

There is still work to do to complete the project including installing new noticeboards, updating the St Mary’s Centre kitchen, providing more folding chairs and installing an audio visual system.

The project was funded through a trust that had been put aside for future work, along with donations from the congregation and people in the parish. Mark said: “It’s made a huge difference. The place is much more versatile. Part of the vision was to create a space that was more useful to the community, not just for Sunday services. The acoustics are fantastic which means it works brilliantly for music events as well as for services, there is a great feel to it.

“One of the features of the refurbishment was to clean up and restore the Victorian font and make it more of a feature of that and the surrnounding area. We’ve cleared out some of the clutter and the main body of the church is great for events like barn dances. They have worked very well.

“We have been enormously moved and grateful to all the people in the parish and congregation who have worked hard and given lots to make this happen. It’s been quite an undertaking but to make the church useful for generations to come is also a great privilege.”