Progress

January 10th 2012

The steel gutter is in and the roofers are back to slate the vestry and the new building. First fixing goes on apace and we are finally finding some room for manoevre on the site. The water supply is in process, BT have been round to work out the route of the 'phone line and we have a date for connection to the sewer. Lightfoot's have been on site to remove three of the west gable windows to their workshop for refurbishment. The fourth will go soon. We also look as if we will have money for the staging and a bar though sadly not for the other windows yet.
The new schedule predicts handover and snagging in the week commencing April 9th. This gives us two weeks to be ready for our first performance on April 29th. And we're still dependent on the weather for some of the outdoor work...

December 13th

The good news is the scaffold has finally gone. This gives access to the front of the building to prepare the access ramp and to the rear to finish the stonework on the extension.
The bad news is that removal and the weather has delayed the project by a further 3 weeks. This gives a handover from CSC in early March to be followed by the painting restoration team from Crick Smith who will need 3 or 4 weeks. This gets us perilously close to our opening event in April. We thought we'd left plenty of leeway but it has all been eaten up.
A further complication is the possibility we will have enough money to put some of the glass restoration back into the contract. This will, of course, take up additional time.
There is some possibility of telescoping Crick Smith's work, the glass work and CSC's construction work together but on such a tight site this would not be easy.
Only time will tell and those of you awaiting our first event will have to bear with us. In the end it is the quality of the work that is of the first importance and this we are very pleased with.
In the mean time our priority is to complete the roof on the extension so that it can dry out over Christmas and internal work can start immediately in the new year.

November 29th

The butterfly emerges from the chrysalis!

November 22nd

Goodbye scaffold! (At least the top half)
As you can see the roof is complete,the scaffold cover removed and the ridges should be on by the time you read this. Once we were over the difficulties experienced at ground level we have been able to write a new schedule which gives completion of the building phase in the 3rd week in February 2012. We then get on with the interior decoration, including the restoration of the original scheme on the western gable wall. We are looking at colour schemes for the main building as we speak, so to speak.
The guttering, cast iron ogee from Longbottoms, is fixed (with stainles screws of course)and the cross is restored and re-fixed on the eastern apex. More of the scaffold will come down once the ridges are on and the steel flashing details are fixed which will give access to a little pointing left undone underneath the the eaves and then the rest can go. We all look forward to a proper view of our "new" building.
The use of contingency funds has been such that we wont have enough money to restore all the glass but we are getting quotes for different elevations in the hope of being able to afford some, with the first priority being the two windows in the western gable. Of course, fundraising efforts continue as we also need funds for the bar area and the technical fit-out. Any suggestions welcome.

November 8th

We march onward!
Slating is close to completion bar the ridge tiles. Next week the canopy will be taken off in sections and the ridges put on as the working platform is removed. Once the canopy is off the rest of the scaffold can be reduced and there will be more room to work on the new build extension. Details like the new bell rope tube have been fixed. The cross will go back shortly.
Down on the ground the retaining wall is complete and drainage and back filling is under way. This structure is so substantial that it is known on site as the Hoover Dam! The exterior stonework has been started in cramped conditions under the scaffold. Some of it can't be done at all till the scaffold is reduced.
Internally plastering is complete and thoughts are turning to the redecoration. Crick Smith who will reproduce the original scheme on the west gable have made suggestions about the general colour scheme for the trustees to consider.

November 1st

Much progress!
The slating of the roof is about 75% complete and looking very good. We have been sensitive to the lead theft issue and are very pleased to have been able to design the re-roofing without the use of lead, substituting coated steel in all the usual lead situations.
Once the roof is completed we can immediately start to take down the scaffolding canopy and all the support for it. This will free up access to the new build and this can then move forward swiftly. It has been a logistical nightmare for Tom, the site manager, with so little room for manoeuvre or strorage. Every job has been like a piece in one of those sliding square puzzles where everything else has to move before you can shift the piece you want! Not being able to use the lane has made things doubly difficult for him. We are very grateful for his patience and intelligence.
Despite the weather and the scafolding obstructions the blockwork in the extension has been progressing and the plastering of the toilets is nearly complete.
The pointing is within a day of completion and, again, looking very good.

October 18th

All roofing preparation is now complete apart from some of the steel cover flashings. All vapour barrier, insulation, felt and latts are in place and the lightning conductors fixed. Slating can now begin in earnest. We've been puzzling over how to refix and weatherproof the cross as the original method had clearly been problematic. We think we have a solution in keeping with the building.
Despite awful weather the retaining wall is being waterproofed with Bituthene and the pointing continues. They are now working on the ground level and should be finished next week. The stone looks very well.

October 11th

Onwards and upwards!
The roof timbers have been repaired and vapour barrier, insulation and counter-battening are well in hand. On the front elevation latting out and slating has started and specialist contractors are fitting coated steel back gutters and the hidden gutter at the gable end. We will not be using lead on the roof in light of the recent spate of thefts.
Below the roof the raking out is almost complete and re-pointing has started. We are all very pleased with the quality of all the work.
Understandably the blockwork on the extension cannot be started in the current weather conditions but the concrete retaining wall has been cast.
Inside, the partitioning for the toilets is nearly complete and so is the lime plastering of the gable. This morning we had the final meeting to decide the details of the electrical and mechanical fit out and the builders can now form the various openings and channels that will be required for first fixing to proceed.

September 27th

Underpinning, internal drains and the vestry floor are now complete. Most of the internal lime plaster repair, apart from the west gable, has been completed. This gable will be re-decorated by specialist decorators to match the original scheme but this will happen at the end of the project.
The roof has been stripped and the news is very good, 90% of the slates can be re-used and only four spar feet had softened and needed repair. We will shortly be in a position to review our finances and decide whether we can use our contingency to restore the glass repairs to the contract and possibly even afford to build the bar!
The state of the pointing has been thoroughly reviewed and although much of it is in good condition it has been decided to re-point the whole building to avoid patchiness. The pointing team is on the job and has nearly finished the very difficult and time-consuming job of raking out the inappropiately hard pointing on the west gable. Luckily the danger of frost seems a long way off in the current Indian summer.

August 23rd

The underpinning and buttress beneath the vestry floor is now complete and work has started on the drainage. Some of the new concrete floor is in place and the new floor in the old bolier room (which will become storage space) has been laid.
Now the scaffold is nearing completion we can get a close look at the detailed work that needs to be done. Some stone will need to be replaced like this in the photowhich is part of the west window. Other will simply be dressed back to sound.
A nice detail is the four heads supporting the arches of the west window. All different and all in good condition.
More work has been done on the problem with the west gable pointing. A sample has been done and approved and the contractors believe they can develop a technique to remove the old pointing safely and efficiently.

August 16th (with apologies for the long gap)

The weather has not co-operated with us and this has slowed down work getting out of the ground. This delay and the extra work needed on the underpinning means the project is some 4 or 5 weeks behind schedule. However, you will see from the pictures that the slab has been poured.
With such a tight constriction on the site and our decision not to use the lane this has slowed down much of the other work. For instance the scaffolders have been waiting to extend the scaffold round the east end of the church and to the rear. This they are now doing and the contractors expect the scaffold to be complete, with roof, on Monday the 22nd.
Once the scaffold is complete work will start on stripping the roof slates. The details of the roof will be very carefully recorded and the slates checked and stored for re-use. This thorough survey of the roof, in conjunction with the known quantity of the underpinning, will allow us to determine how much of our contingency will be required. By this stage there will be little else unquantifiable that can happen and we will know whether we can afford to add the restoration of the windows back in to the contract.
The scaffold will also allow a thorough survey of the pointing. A pointing sample has been approved and the survey will identify those areas that need re-pointing. It has always been the plan to re-point the west gable in its entirety as the cement strap pointing there is completely inappropriate. However this is proving to be so hard and well adhered that it took nearly four hours to remove a sample square metre carefully enough to minimise damage to the stone. We and the architects, the heritage people and the funders will have to consider carefully whether removal of this pointing will do more harm than good.
Meanwhile the conservators have completed their survey of the original decorative scheme and the waterproofing render on the west wall has been applied. This will take the plaster for the reproduction of the complete scheme here.
The altar area has been taken back and the new sub floor installed. This area will have removable staging which can be used flexibly throughout the building, including as tiered seating for theatre in the round perhaps. There will be storage space under this.
As you will see from the third picture the old vestry floor has been removed to reveal the undercroft and give access to yet more underpinning. This undercroft will be under the new toilet area and will provide service access to plumbing etc. The boiler room behind will be damp proofed for storage space.

June 21st

The holes get bigger!

The dig for the new extension is now completed and the conection between the old and the new has been opened up. The floor under the vestry is being dug down ready for new concrete. This has revealed that extensive underpinning will be necessary to the arch and the flying buttress that forms half an arch in the vestry.
This underpinning will be very tricky and once the new floor is in anything projecting from the new wall will have to be trimmed back. The photos here show some of the detail.

The damp and damaged plaster has been removed from the west end of the nave. This will be replaced with new lime plaster and painted with a complete reproduction of the original decorative scheme.

June 14th

The conservators continue to make their painstaking progress revealing the decorative scheme. Our peeping angel is now fully exposed and recording and tracing progresses.

Poor weather has delayed the dig but the necessary underpinning has been completed.

Does anybody want a pulpit? The contractors need it out of the way but we've not been able to find a suitable home for it. It seems a shame for such a fine piece of stonework not to be made use of somewhere.

May 25th

An exciting week! The dig is 80% complete, the murals and windows are fully protected, the paint scheme conservators have started work and samples of stone sand, lime and slate have arrived for testing.
We find there is no foundation to to the church building. This is quite normal for the 1880s. The building has settled uniformly so there is no damage but we will probably have to do some underpinning before pouring the slab for the extension
Once the original decorative scheme has been fully recorded most of it will be covered over again. We hope to be able to leave some patches exposed for the benefit of the curious and the entire west wall scheme will be reproduced on the new plaster necessitated by extensive water damage. The conservators are recording fluctuations in relative humidity to inform future conservation.
Rob Harrington (Architect) and I (John Wilson, Trustee) had a long meeting with the mechanical and electrical design subcontractors and CSC (Builders) which was very useful, covering a lot of detailed ground tying in the trust's requirements with the design and specification. We will shortly get together again with our arts fit-out adviser James Probert to fill in more details. The church already has a 3 phase supply, so that's one expense saved!

May 18th

The dig progresses. To avoid using Cresswell Avenue spoil is moved by small dumper to the front of the church where it is loaded by grab into a lorry. 3 loads a day can be shifted like this which is slow but avoids nuisance to neighbours. The outhouses have been demolished and the stone and slate carefully preserved for future use.
Polycarbonate protection for the mural panels has been installed in the nave. Protection for the windows next.
Trustees have visited Wirksworth town hall with arts fit-out adviser James Probert to look at their set up. The situation is very similar to ours and the solution looks very good and affordable we hope!

May 10th

The start of the dig. The wall to Cresswell Avenue has been photographed and taken down. The stone has been cleaned and palleted to be stored safely off site. The copings have been labelled and all will go back exactly as before. The church has been cleared and a site office set up in the vestry.
Following a report of bat activity a further survey was commissioned which showed plenty of bats but none of them roosting in the church buildings or the trees. You can see the report here BAT REPORT
The picture shows Tom Oliver, the site manager for CSC Construction, in discussion with Rob Harrington of Bernard Taylor Partnership, supervising architect and John Fildes, trustee and project manager for St James Trust.

The Project

The scheme will retain a historic Grade II listed building, which contributes to the special identity of New Mills. The centre will become a magnet for the arts and an added dimension in the profile of the township, as well as sustaining the quality of the local built environment and thus enhancing the local community’s sense of identity and place.

Converting the building into an arts centre has required an architect-designed scheme for the interior of the building to create an attractive multi-use space with level flooring and ease of access to all parts. In order to increase the flexibility of the building, a new-build extension is planned to provide space for toilets, storage, catering and a small meeting room. The interior will be fitted out with black out, performance flooring, a small theatre-lighting set-up, an audio system, stackable seating and tables. The architects commissioned for the design are The Bernard Taylor Partnership of Stockport.

The project has received grant funding for the development work from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Architectural Heritage Fund. Our Round 1 HLF bid was successful and we now have our stage 2 bid for the main capital funding and we have enough for the project to go ahead. The contractors will be on site in May. These funds will need to be supplemented from other sources to ensure completion of all the internal restoration work and the fitting out with professional technical equipment for performances. We are currently approaching suitable trusts for this funding in addition to continuing to raise our own funds. The project team is led by Project Manager John Fildes and includes architects Bernard Taylor Partnership of Stockport and DBA Consulting from Sheffield.

Two considerations informed the plans we agreed with the architects Bernard Taylor Partnership Ltd. These were the need for more service accommodation to make the church viable as a community and performance space and the need for easy level access throughout.

Our plans received planning approval in 2010

Access

The latter occasions the ramp from the pavement outside the church up to the entrance. It would have made more topographic sense to run in from the uphill side of course but this would have compromised the frontage of the almshouses and one of their entrance ways.

It also means level changes within the church buildings. The altar area and the vestry are raised above the level of the body of the church and initially it was proposed to raise the floor of the nave to match this with an electric chairlift at the rear alongside steps up to the new floor level. This was rejected on the grounds that it would compromise the internal proportions of the building, most noticeably reducing the height of the window cills and their relation to other vertical proportions. Instead it was suggested that the vestry floor be lowered to the level of the nave with the altar platform taken back to allow access through.

There is an undercroft under the vestry area and the ground levels outside allow a small extension to be built with minimal digging out. A smaller raised stage area is preserved and it is proposed that pull out stage extensions be incorporated to accommodate performances that need the extra space.

Service Accommodation

The small extension to the rear of the church allows for a refreshment area, toilets and a small meeting/green room. Separate doors will lead to the stage and to the auditorium from the service area. The outside ground levels mean a level emergency exit route can be created and there will be space for bicycle racks and bin storage.

Our thanks must go to Peter Hatfield the architect whose patience and imagination made the design process so easy for us. We hope you like the result as much as we do.

Plan

East Elevation

Please note the Drawing title "West Elevation" is an error.

North Elevation

For better resolution you can also download the plan, east elevation and north elevation pdfs and the revised plan