COGS REDEVELOPMENT SCHEME
FUNDRAISING EVENTS
Friday 11 April – 7.30pm HARROGATE MALE
VOICE CHOIR - Frazer
Theatre Tickets £6 from Pauline Murray
863188
Friday 25 April - 5.30-8.30pm SPONSORED SILENCE Gracious
Street Methodist Church Hall Upstairs Youth Room Contact Lynn Blanch 866645
Saturday 3 May – 9.30am-12noon SALE & COFFEE
MORNING Gracious Street Methodist Church Hall Books, Videos, CDs, Pictures,
etc. Contact Gareth Burn 865476
Saturday 17 May - 10.00am-12noon BIG COGS COFFEE MORNING
Anyone who could invite a few friends
and neighbours to their home for coffee with donations
to COGS please contact Joyce
Hoare 860750 Invitations and COGS information will
be provided
A Place for the Community
Gracious Street is a 'seven days a week' venue, with activities
happening throughout the week, as well as two services every Sunday. During
the morning service there is a thriving Sunday Club, together with a crèche
for babies and toddlers. Youth Fellowship meets on Sunday evenings to provide
activities for 11-18 year olds. During the week, various bible and fellowship
groups meet. Lunch Link provides meals for elderly members of the local community
on Tuesday lunchtimes. On Wednesday, Market day in Knaresborough, there is
morning coffee, followed by on the first and third Wednesday a soup and sweet
lunch. This is specifically organised to serve both the community and visitors
to the town. On Friday mornings, Playbox Parent and Toddler Group, Noah's
Ark Pre-school meet everyday during term time. The premises are used by the
whole community.
List of Organisations using the Church Hall on a regular basis: |
Noah's Ark Pre-school
Mon – Fri am,Tues & Thurs pm
Social Services.
5 days per week all day
Martial Arts (Yorkshire Silat Academy)
Four Evenings a week
Cameo (Come and Meet Each Other)
Every other Monday evening
Men's Forum Committee.
Monthly Monday morning.
Yorkshire Countrywomen's Association.
Monthly Monday afternoon
Lunch Link
Tuesday a.m.
Knaresborough Methodist Church Fellowship
Tuesday afternoon
Coffee Stop.
Wednesday a.m.
Soup and Sweet Lunch
Every other Wednesday lunch time.
Art Class.
Thursday morning
Table Tops (Table Tennis)
Thursday morning |
Probus Club.
Every other Thursday afternoon
Playbox (Parent and Toddler Group)
Friday am
Youth Drop In (Run by Council)
Friday Evenings
Mens' Breakfast
First Saturday mornings in month
Sunday Club (3–11s)
Every Sunday morning
Youth Fellowship (11-18s)
Every week
Alpha Course (a twelve week course once or twice a year.)
Weekly sessions
Music Group
Hall & Church for rehearsals weekly.
ARK Meetings
Every 4 to 6 weeks
Church Council Meetings
As arranged
Circuit Meeting
As arranged |
Regular Occasional Bookings
Birthday Parties, Tewitt Band,
Horticultural Society, FEVA (Knaresborough's annual Festival of Arts),
Knaresborough Players, Inner Wheel. There are other
bookings on an ad hoc basis should there be spaces.
Possible future
groups
Parenting Courses, Bereavement Counselling, Town Youth Venue, Marriage
Enrichment
Group.
Reason for change
The existing hall was built in 1815 as a galleried non-conformist 'preaching
box'. Later the interior and exterior of the old building were extensively
altered to provide a Sabbath and Day School for about 200 children. The school
was on two levels, with access to the upper level provided by means of two
external stone staircases. This building is not structurally unsound, although
it does require extensive repair, with cracks and fractures to most sills and
above a number of windows. A survey for the project has revealed woodworm in
the roof timbers thus necessitating a new roof. The general condition of the
exterior walls requires renovation, with damp patches in some areas. This has
led to the use of internal panelling on many walls to hide the effects of damp.
The external walls have been altered in a number of places to accommodate the
changes in use. On the 'car park' elevation can be seen a number of bricked
up doorways. The present Church building was built in 1975 and has proved to
be adaptable and flexible over the last thirty years. The ancillary premises
attached to the church all have flat roofs which bring their own problems.
At present the members of Gracious Street tolerate inadequate ancillary
premises making do with buildings that are far from satisfactory for
our present usage.
They are also starting to limit our potential to serve the future needs
of our members and the wider community. The shortcomings of the hall can be summarised as follows. It has:-
- High maintenance and repair costs.
- Expensive heating
costs due to large single glazed windows, high ceilings and poor
insulation.
- Lack of storage space.
- Poor accessibility from and no physical
link between the church and hall.
- Lack of a 'homely' atmosphere
which is not conducive to the work of many groups.
- Structural
pillars severely restricting the uses to which the hall can be
put.
- Inadequate facilities for the disabled
- A shortage of rooms
for use by member groups and other organisations.
- Lack of facilities
for young people.
Adaptation of the hall and ancillary premises to our needs
If the hall is not renovated it will inevitably deteriorate. The site is in
a conservation area. As a historic market town, Knaresborough is made up
of buildings from many periods and styles of architecture. The schoolroom
is almost two hundred years old and there is no reason why, with sensitive
restoration and up keep, we should not be proud of it for another two hundred
years!
Newly renovated premises will provide significant benefits:-
- Much better access for the elderly and disabled.
- Flexible, updated
and purpose built multi-functional premises with modern and comfortable
facilities which meet the anticipated needs
of ALL user groups.
- Modern internally, yet sympathetic to
the surrounding area.
- A facility for the whole town, but privately
funded.
- An important building retained for the future.
- Reduced heating
costs achieved through high levels of insulation and a new heating
system.
- Potential for much increased use by the community
as well as the church.
Key Points of Proposed Scheme
- The existing nineteenth century church hall will be refurbished,
providing accommodation which will be suitable for games, drama, singing
and social
events.
- A new modern hygienic kitchen will be able to cater
for large numbers of people.
- New toilet facilities will be provided
for people of all abilities.
- There will be a lift to the first and
second floors which will give additional meeting rooms together with
toilets and storage space.
- The scheme will include a link building
connecting the nineteenth century schoolroom with the present church.
Within this link
building will be a large
open plan foyer with informal seating; an area designed specifically
for our daily Pre-School children's activities; a library/bookstall
and display
area;
a meeting room, a Vestry and an office.
- In addition an
enclosed paved courtyard will be created.
Finance
The expected cost of the scheme is at least £2 million. This
scheme will be financed through fundraising, gifts from church members
and grants
from charitable bodies. The Mayor of Knaresbrough, Councillor Peter
Guest, has chosen COGS as his Charity for the year.
Summary
- Gracious Street Methodist Church is a thriving organisation
within the town of Knaresborough.
- The present buildings can no longer
meet the needs of either the Church or the Community.
- Demolition of
the church hall is out of the question and it is therefore sensible
to refurbish and add new linking areas where possible. The membership
of the Church support a refurbishment scheme.
- The proposed scheme will be carried out to a high standard and will enhance
this part of Knaresborough.
Contact Information
The Architects
The Church Council have selected Chartered Architects Richard Eves, Alexandra
Villa, 3 Victoria Avenue, Harrogate HG1 1EQ Telephone 01423 504488,
to be the architects for the proposed scheme. For further Information please contact one of the following:-
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