Securing the future of a Victorian church for future generations

This project aimed to protect, preserve and enhance the existing church to bring the congregations of St John’s Church and the Living Waters Church together under one roof.

The nave of the church had been closed for several years due to falling plaster from the ceilings, following an inappropriate re-roofing in 1990, and the church had been under threat of closure.  

The project includes two contrasting worship spaces with St John’s using the existing chancel for their regular services, in a traditional Anglican format while Living Waters will use the floor of the nave for a more informal type of service with live music and projected images.

A café area can be closed off from the nave or opened up to increase capacity as required and a range of mezzanine meeting rooms can similarly be opened up to provide increased capacity.

A new extension provides ancillary office, meeting and toilet accommodation needed for the centre to operate in its new format.