800 + our Vision for (Y)our church
By sponsoring a chair you will be creating the space to ensure our church is fit for use for the 21st Century, enabling the whole community to use the space and flourish.
Fundraising Events
How can I help ?
Everyone is welcome and no experience is necessary, although if you do have any specific skills we would love to hear from you. There are so many ways you can help from fundraising, managing events, volunteering and more do check out our volunteering page for our latest opportunities or do contact us if you think you can help in any way. Thank you.
We would love to hear your memories of St Mary’s Church, please add your stories, pictures and memories to our Treasure Trove . . .
To make a donation to our St Mary’s Hook 800+ Campaign or to set up your own fundraising page please visit our Justgiving page. Thank you.
For alternative ways to donate, set up a regular gift or send a cheque please click the button below.
800 years old, Plus
There’s been a church serving the people of Hook for a long time. Our building, St Mary’s, is 800 years old in 2025 and we want it to be filled with life and love for another 800.
But to begin with we’re looking to the nearer future by working to make a building fit for what a 21st Century church needs and a great space for a wide range of other community activities which could include – heritage events, craft fairs, exhibitions, small group meetings, concerts and so much more – events which add to the ones already happening in our community.
(Picture above – Oak Memorial Board from the 19th Century)
And at the same time we’re praying and working to grow our community, so to provide the spiritual support people need, in a way which is accessible and which enables them to follow Jesus teaching and example bringing hope, joy healing and forgiveness into life with deep love and care.
( Picture right – Let the little children come to me, ‘choir’ window in St Mary’s a picture of Jesus care)
To be honest, we’re not yet there and the building is currently not in a great state. It’s set up with a one purpose layout (all eyes front) with poor facilities (outside toilet, no kitchen) and in places the structure is also a little tired. The roof covering is about to fail, there’s some movement in the foundations, some worn out stonework and windows which need repair.
In addition there are poor disabled access facilities and some other elements which aren’t fit for purpose and so don’t serve a 21st Century community well or help us to make our worship and events the best they can be and to make the building more useful for things that you might like to put on here.
To address all of this
we’re looking to repair the building and restore it to being a really useful resource to the village and surrounding community.
and we are aiming to do this by 2025 our 800th anniversary
The project will include :
- putting in a disabled toilet and a kitchenette
- returning the nave (body of the church) to what we believe it was for 600 years a flexible space, good for varieties of worship, concerts and events. (There will most likely be stackable chairs instead of pews).
- replacing the roof (it’s currently got old concrete tiles which are beginning to break up, we’re going to put slates on which should last at least 100 years).
- solving issues of subsidence
- repairing stonework
- work on the heating system
- and improvements to the AV
This should set the building up to be useful for the next 100-200 years by letting much of what is done in it now to be done better It will also open up great opportunities to do so much more here. More, which can help enhance peoples lives in so many, many ways.
The Picture below shows the church as it might have been for the first 550 years of it’s life when it had no pews and would have served as a village hall as well as a space for Sunday worship with a ‘sanctuary’ at one end which was kept apart ‘holy’ but the rest used in many ways.
Achieving this is a big challenge as the costs for the full project have been estimated to be £300 000 – £500 000. However we believe this is do-able with the amazing support of local fund raising and through applications to supportive trusts and other organisations who enable such projects which enhance the life of communities.
We’re phasing the project so that we get maximum impact for the money we raise and can build on the success of each stage. See Project Phasing
Project
Timeline
Items in BOLD have been achieved and paid for, others on the way and still need more funding to achieve.
Finalise detailed plans
and specifications
(£5500)
Submit planning
applications: (£500)
Obtain quotes and award contracts (£0) – figures below are estimates until we’ve done this.
To be done in these subphases
- Move Oil Tank
(£3-5000) - remove pews
level floors
new chairs
(£20-30,000) - Install Kitchenette and storage
(£5-10,000 – Howdens have already agreed to donate kitchen internals) - Install disabled toilet, fire exit and pathway lighting
(£20-30,000) - AV upgrade (£3,500)
2023 / 2024
And activities to make use of the space and enhance the lives of users.
- Structural and other reports, develop plans, specifications
and activities
£10-20,000) - planning applications
- get quotes and award contracts
- Major repairs to roof, walls, windows, underpin vestry and make other repairs
(£150-250,000) - improve heating and lighting to make more efficient and beautiful
(£25-30,000) - Heritage and other activities organised to make further good use of the building and have positive impact on the community
(£10,000-100,000)
These to run over the next five years.