Building Christ Church: 1976 to 1990
The Christ Church Centre
Whilst the idea of the Christ Church Centre (the name given to the Lounge, Kitchen and Orchard Room) has begun in the early 1970s, it was during the late 1970s that this started to be pushed to completion.
A vast sum of money - £350,000 - was raised through direct giving by the congregation into a Capital Projects Fund, and in 1980 the orchard to the north of the church was cleared and most of the North Wall demolished to make way for the wooden doors that would link the church building to a spacious lounge where meetings could be held and refreshments enjoyed after the services.
The stained glass windows that had previously existed within the North Wall were relocated within specially constructed lit boxes on the West Wall.
The redevelopment allowed for a larger Car Park (with space for 32 cars) to replace the smaller one that had previously existed in front of the Vestry Hall. It is said that in the original plans the kitchen was half the size and that it was the women of Christ Church who insisted on this change!
The Christ Church Centre was eventually completed and a Service of Thanksgiving and Dedication Ceremony was held on 27th June 1981.
Demolition of the Tin Tab
These developments led to the final demolition of the 'temporary' Tin Tab, which had stood on the south side of the church for 81 years. This was undertaken by a team of volunteers on 2nd May 1981, and the ground was later landscaped and flowers and shrubs planted.
Whilst these developments thus led to the loss of the striking North Wall of the building, it also led to the attractive perspective that now exists of the South Wall from Cambridge Avenue, which had been obscured for all but six years since its construction in 1894.
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Building CCNM 1968-75 |
Life at CCNM 1976-90 |
Building CCNM 1991-2006 |  |
