Ready for the New Year 2008!

The church had an amazing number of people attending all four of the Christmas Eve Services and the feedback was excellent. There are still some things to be resolved, but over all it was light, warm and welcoming, and there was a definite exciting atmosphere.

The organ has been struggling with the dust and grit but is being worked on. However, it sounded wonderful at the services, as did the Choir and Music Group, given the new sound system and the improved acoustics.

Following the re-ordering, St Mary's Church is to be featured in the March/April issue of Church Buildings Magazine.

We are now ready for the New Year and some exciting events. Some of the things planned are as follows:

Christingle Service on Sunday, 6th January at 3.00pm followed by a tea in St Mary's Hall. Families whose children who have been baptised at St Mary's recently will be invited to join in. This has been a successful and enjoyable event in previous years. If you would like to know more or help, please call S Shaw on 820252.

'Back to Church Sunday' on 13th January at 9.30am and 6.00pm. Invite your friends, family and neighbours who used to attend church but haven't been lately. They might just want to be asked so give them a personal invitation.

'Opera Unmasked' a concert given by Trio Musicale, on Saturday, January 19th at 7.30pm will present music from the classics to Gilbert and Sullivan. Tickets are £6 (£2 for children -16) which can be obtained from R Barrow (856202) or The Rectory (852228).

Churches Together - week of prayer for Christian Unity, E Leake Baptist Church - Sunday 20th January We are lucky to share events with other churches from East Leake. Come along and meet some new friends.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Thank you for logging in to follow the process of St Mary's Church Re-ordering. I hope you have found it as new and interesting as I have.

All the information will be kept on disk for the future, including many more photographs which provide a record of where all the plumbing and cabling are under the floor.

I wish everyone who logs into this weblog a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. May God bless you just as He did all those working on the re-ordering. I've never known building work go so smoothly.

Summary of St Mary's Church, East Leake Reordering Process - Start to Finish

St. Mary's Church before and after the re-ordering showing the south west corner.
The main aisle towards the chancel and sanctuary.
The pews have been removed and sold to local families who have a connection with St Mary's Church.

The plinths and tiles have been removed.
The archaeologist records the stones from the Saxon wall from the original church.

The blown glass sub floor is laid

The limecrete floor is laid.

The under floor heating is laid and the oak floor is laid.

The new tea bar, toilet and lobby are installed with a matching screen to the bell tower screen.

The rebuilding work inside the church is finished on time.

Monday, 17th December - Happy to be back

There was a packed church yesterday for our first service. This was followed by mince pies, a glass of wine and chocolates! Comments on the re-ordered church were very positive and there was an air of excitement.

There were questions about the small stones around the edge of the church and the pillars: these are necessary to allow the floor to breathe and prevent any moisture rising through the pillars.

Steps are being taken to prevent them being accidentally moved on to the wood floor and damaging it.There are still small areas which need some attention and there are likely to be more as they become apparent over the next few months. However, the church will continue to be used as normal.

Extra cleaning and rearranging the seating for the Christmas Services will be needed. If you would like to help, please contact the Churchwardens. Help is still needed for Sidesduty, setting up and clearing up too. Our small band of volunteers have been working very hard and could use some assistance.

Friday, 14th December - Setting up for Sunday 16th Dec.

The audio system and a screen are being set up ready for the first Sunday service back in church, this Sunday, 16th December at 10.00 am. Come along and join us! Everyone is welcome. Note: The service next Sunday will be at the normal time of 9.30 am. See the listing for the Christmas Services on the right hand side of the blog. Invitations and posters are going out to invite small children and their families to our Christingle Service on January 6th at 3.00 pm, so please put this on your 2008 calendar ready. Many of the congregation and some members of the community have called in to have a peep at the new look. Everyone is excited at being back in our church home at last - on time and ready to celebrate the birth of our Saviour. Cleaning etc. is still ongoing to ensure a sparkling church by Sunday, so you're not too late to help.

Thursday, 13th December - Chairs arrive.

Each day there has been a lot of re-sweeping, dusting and polishing to do. The tired volunteers have been doing a marvellous job of unpacking the stored items and sorting out the boxes. Everyone will be ready for a good rest over Christmas. Anyone who can spare an hour to help will be very welcome - cups of tea and coffee provided. That dust keeps settling over everything!

The contents of the tea-bar have arrived and have been washed and stored ready for use.

The first of the new wooden, blue upholstered chairs arrived this afternoon. It took several people some time to unload and transfer them into the church, where they are being tried out in different formats and there are still more chairs to come.

Wednesday, 12th December - More unpacking!

Yesterday, the remainder of the furnishing and contents were returned to the church from their safe storage. Further cleaning took place of the vestry and chancel areas. The contents of the boxes were unpacked today and found 'homes' if only provisionally. Having a newly re-ordered church gives the opportunity to sort out the contents and find new places for some of them. Others obviously have set places where they belong. The piano was tuned this morning and is now adapting to its new surroundings, as the humidity of the location affects the tuning, apparently.

Tuesday, 11th December - Furniture moving

Several volunteers arrived yesterday with their cleaning materials and got to work on cleaning and polishing the items in the sanctuary. The piano arrived back yesterday and will be tuned in time for the first service. The organ was also cleaned and checked, so we now have music!

The photos are very orange sometimes - this is because lighting is provided by the internal church lights. This time of year there is very little daylight coming in through the windows.

The 16th century pews have been cleaned and are placed along the south wall. Some are in the overhead storage area close to the glass screen, where they can be viewed from below.

Monday, 10th December 2007 - Moving back in.

Extra cupboards have been requested for the tea-bar for extra storage and will be installed. Some items arrived too late on Friday to be installed so they will be done this week.


Volunteers followed the contractor's clean through with another one, as the fine dust rises and settles very slowly. The stored items in the sanctuary had the worst of the dust removed and were cleaned before moving them out into the nave. Everything will need more cleaning all through the week.

Due to the tiles being in constant use they are still to be cleaned, grouted and sealed.

The baby-changing facility will be installed this week, so the toilet will have facilities for everyone.

The piano is due to arrive back from West Leake church this morning and placed ready for the first service on Sunday, 16th Dec.

Friday, 7th December - The re-ordering is finished!

The Re-ordering of St Mary's Church, East Leake has been finished today as planned! The last time it was done, was between 1882 - 1886.

Credit and thanks are due to our architect, Mark Goodwill Hodgson, and the employees of Philip Waller Ltd, Nottingham who have done a wonderful job providing us with facilities fit for the 21st century.

As always there are a few details to be completed next week, but the congregation of St Mary's Church & community can now use the church once again.

Preparations will now be taking place to prepare the church for the first services.

Further photographs of the finished church, complete with the new chairs and original furnishings will be placed on the blog, and how the process progressed will remain on-line for some time.

Thursday, 6th December - Down to the wire!

The third coat of varnish is being painted on the oak panelling and the screen.
The tarmac was laid on the path to finish it off this morning, while dodging the heavy showers.

The floor tiles are being grouted, and the last of the toilet furnishings are being fitted.

The contractor will be cleaning the church when they have finished tomorrow, 7th Dec. but it will still some cleaning once the stored furniture in the sanctuary is put back. This has been gathering dust since September and the atmosphere is likely to be very dusty.

Work by volunteers will begin on Saturday, 8th Dec. but we will need help with cleaning and moving furniture next week. If anyone would like to contact the Churchwardens, so we can spread the workload, it would be much appreciated.

Wednesday, 5th December - Planning for the finish

The contractor is working through the list of last minute finishing details inside the church. The heating controls and pipework in the chancel are being boxed in.

The new panelling is being varnished and the interiors of the lobby, toilet and tea-bar are being painted.

Tarmac to finish the path is planned for tomorrow. The gate has been removed for some improvements and the arch is now back in place.

Several volunteers have been contacted to help with moving items back into place next week and for cleaning.

Our first services will be on Sunday, 16th December at 8.00 am Holy Communion, & at 10.00 am Parish Communion. Everyone is welcome, especially those from our Benefice churches at Costock, Rempstone, Stanford on Soar and West Leake, who have supported us while our congregation has been 'on tour' these past three months.

A Prayer Meeting will be held on Tuesday, 11th December 5.00-6.00 pm in the church, and you are invited to come. Please note: Christmas Services listed on the right side of the blog.

This blog will remain on-line for some time once the re-ordering has been finished for those who are unable to come and visit, but who would like to see the newly re-ordered St Mary's Church.

We would like to know if you have found this blog useful and if you would like it to continue. What information would you like to see on it?

Please contact: webmaster@stmarys-eastleake.org.uk or P Brown c/o St Mary's Parish Church, East Leake.

Monday, 3rd December - The final week

The shawm has been carefully mounted on the south wall, to the east of the entrance. The original sign will not be mounted below it until it has been placed on a backing plate. It is extremely delicate and needs to be strengthened and preserved for the future.

The board containing the names of the Rector's of St Mary's has also been put up.

Work continues on the tea-bar, and the oak facing on the tea-bar and lobby will have its coats of varnish this week.

The bell tower doors will be glazed, now they are slightly shorter than before.

There are many details to finish during this final week and the contractor is arranging for a thorough clean of the area at the end of the week.

Volunteers are being prepared for this weekend when further cleaning will take place and much of the church furniture etc. will be brought back into the newly re-ordered nave.

Delivery of the new chairs is taking place next week. These consist of wooden, upholstered chairs chosen by the congregation, and additional chrome, upholstered, folding chairs to be used for large services and gatherings. The upholstery will be in a royal blue colour.

Friday, 30th November - Busy, busy

The site is a hive of activity today, and the weather is being kind to us. The gateway has a lovely stone entrance now and work is taking place on preparing the level entrance to the church.

The glass has arrived to glaze the new screen, which will be installed today. A very delicate job! This was measured and prepared in Waller's workshop.

All the woodwork will have three coats of varnish to match the bell tower next week.

The tea-bar units are being installed and being completed so that the interior can be painted on Monday.

The doors to the bell tower are being re-hung, and the toilet is being fitted out.

Thursday, 29th November - be aware!

A warning on the local radio this week is to be alert for anyone stealing metal of any kind. This follows an incident where a young man was seriously electrocuted trying to steal copper from a sub-station recently. Since the theft of the lead from St Mary's Church roof, we all need to keep an eye out in case they return. They will find more than they bargained for this time, however, but please help us by being watchful.

Grading of the path from the road has been done now, ready for the tarmac coat, and the lych gate arch is yet to be replaced.

Work is taking place to start clearing the contractor's compound. The churchyard will look a little untidy until the grass grows back next spring, but will be having some TLC from our churchyard volunteers once the project is finished.

Wednesday, 28th November - Countdown time.

The pulpit is now back in place, ready for the audio wiring and hearing loop to be laid and connected. It's structure was checked before it was re-installed.

Work is continuing on the tea bar and toilet area. The internal walls have been plastered and the tea bar and toilet are being fitted out. The balustrade is now in place, but incomplete.

The internal door has already been shortened, and the external door has been removed for shortening today, to accommodate the new floor level. It will be rehung by the end of the day to ensure the church is secured overnight.

Some of the original tiles have been used in the entrance, around and inside the tea bar, lobby and toilet areas. Recycled blown glass was used for the sub floor and the floor timber is from sustainable forests.

Monday, 26th November - Still on time!

The road works signs were removed today and Main St is back to normal. Tarmac will be put down on the disturbed sections of the path and also at the Station Road entrance to improve the level of the surface for disability access. The old gate post will be removed as it has rotted away, and it will give a slightly wider access.

Fitting out the tea-bar and the toilet will begin this week. The tea-bar will have work surfaces along three sides - one for serving through the hatch, one for the sinks and one for preparation.

The new audio system is being linked up and the new Hearing Loop will be installed later this week

The pulpit is to be placed back in its original location this week.

The oak panelling has now been placed on both sides of the enclosed area and will be finished to match the oak screen in the bell tower.

Saturday, 24th November - New tarmac

The trench has been backfilled and the footpath and road have been re-covered with tarmac. The road works signage will be removed on Monday.

Further tarmac will be placed on the sections of the church path which have been disturbed, especially at the entrance of the church where the section between the inner and outer doors meets the entrance of the church and the new floor level inside.

Adjustments are being made to the church path for a graduated slope now the step has been removed for practical purposes. This will make a smooth path all the way from the road to the church door.

Please note! This does NOT mean that the slope is suitable for disability access. The entrance on Station Road will remain the correct entrance to use.

The contractor is working today and plans to complete installation of the wood floor by Tuesday. Currently, the south section is being worked on, but the nave and bell tower have been laid.

On Friday, the walls in the tea-bar and the lobby/toilet wall were being installed. Small windows will be placed in both the tea-bar and toilet to block off where their walls overlap the church exterior window.

Thursday, 22nd November - Taking shape

The tea-bar and lobby are beginning to take shape now the beautiful, exterior panelling has been installed on the south side. The lobby door has panelling, creating a 'false' door, which matches the rest of the wall, and leads to the toilet.

Work has begun on placing the new oak floor on top of the under floor heating system. Each board is placed separately with a small space between each one allowing for movement, then fixed down.

Severn Trent will be inspecting the finished drainage connection today, after which the trench can be back-filled, and Main Street can get back to normal.

Unfortunately, during excavation, it was necessary to remove the lych gate after all, due to the equipment not being able to work over or through it. However, it will be put back in place, along with the gate when work is finished. Tomorrow, there are plans for tarmac to be laid to finish the surface.