Etherley church revamp paves way for new role as community hub

A VILLAGE church has embarked upon an ambitious expansion that will transform it into a multi-use community hub.
New kitchen and toilet facilities at St Cuthbert’s Church, in Etherley, will allow it to host a wide variety of events and functions, along with attracting more people to services.
The extension, which is due to be completed by September, will cost about £50,000.
Already some £38,000 has been spent on a new heater and carpeting.
It is the church’s first major refurbishment since it was built in 1833.
Church warden Barrie Kirton said the boiler, which was commissioned in October last year, had made the church a lot more comfortable, and replaces an ancient system that relied on a single pipe system.
He added: “We used to put the heating on at 10pm on Saturday for the Sunday service and it still wasn’t warm enough. People had to take their coats off the first day [after the new system was installed] because it was too hot. It is a lot more efficient in terms of consumption.”
A previous configuration of the pews had the aisles running down the sides of the church which was not ideal.
Fellow church warden Sheila Mulgrew said: “It was awful for weddings and funerals.”
A redesign of the pews allows for a central aisle during services, weddings and funerals, but can be easily rearranged to create an open space in the church to allow for community activities.
Parts of the old pews have been recycled into creating a mobile servery as well as a storage cupboard. This work was done by the members of the congregation led by Mr Kirton, who is a retired electrical engineer, and church publicity officer Terry Robinson, who is a former construction manager.
Mr Robinson said: “We designed it on purpose so that we can move the pews. We copied ideas from other churches. Everyone has been to see what other churches are doing.”
Mr Kirton paid tribute to the congregation, which consists of about 25 regular church-goers, for their effort.
He said: “It was amazing the support we had from the congregation, they came and cleaned the church. The big thing for me is the fellowship of it. It was amazing the people who came to help, not only this church but other churches as well.”
Help also came from people outside the congregation, including Etherley decorator Gary Shaw, who gave up his time to help and offered advice free of charge.
Principle stonemason for Beamish Museum Kenny Bowen helped to move the church’s ancient stone font, which has been replaced by a mobile wooden one that was rescued from the now defunct United Reformed Church, in Barnard Castle.
The tall stone font has been moved to the entrance of the church where it is on permanent display.
Mr Kirton said: “It is nice to retain the historic element but it was quite difficult to baptise a baby because the vicar would have to stand on a support, which wasn’t quite safe.” Once the work is complete in September, plans are to start a toddler group and to host regular coffee mornings.
The messy church, which currently operates out of the Methodist church hall, will also use the new facility and a new Sunday school could be established in the future.
Mr Kirton said: “We want to work together as community halls, working with the village hall and the Methodist hall to support each other.”