A large, wall-mounted panel presents an activity-based challenge relating to the main themes of our heritage, from ‘Sandy the squirrel’. This is supported by five, life-sized character displays that bring the people behind our main themes (Jesus, Lord Byron, Ada Lovelace, CE Kempe and Ben Caunt), to life for younger visitors. All displays feature a fun activity and are the perfect support for school or family visits.

Ask one of our church stewards for a ‘Sandy’s Church Safari’ activity sheet when you visit – there’s a chocolate treat reward for anyone taking Sandy’s challenge!

Local historian David Heathcote presented two talks within the church, celebrating the life, works and legacy of this ‘enchantress of numbers’, as she was known.

She is best remembered for her work with Charles Babbage, creator the first mechanical computer but as David’s talk highlighted, she was a formidable intellect, whose legacy is far greater than the translation and support she provided to the engineer of the Difference Engine.

The main picture shows a cameraman from NottsTV news, who came to church whilst David was rehearsing.

Historically, the wreath was positioned very high up on the south wall of the south transept, above the old toilet, in a dusty and cracked glass dome.

As part of the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) supported restoration project, the wreath now forms part of the story of poet Lord Byron and sits atop the Byron tomb in the newly refurbished wooden case. New LED lighting also shows the wreath off to best effect – the first time it has been seen so close at hand in many decades.

During the restoration project supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, the ceramic copy of the wreath used at Lord Byron’s funeral has undergone its own restoration. Now returned and protected within a new, perspex display case, it will be repositioned within a modified version of the wooden structure above the vault.

The structure is being enlarged to accommodate the wreath and an inscribed marble tablet will be re-sited to accompany it. The wreath will also be lit by LED lighting so that visitors can see all of the hand-crafted detail.

Now the church has a beautifully restored tower, thanks to generous support from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). The entire tower has been repointed, damaged and eroded stonework has been replaced and the north west buttress has been rebuilt. New water drainage has been installed and numerous vegetation that clung to the crumbling mortar has all been removed.

While the tower masonry work was undertaken, the church clock has also been refurbished, including a sand-blasting, new paint and new gilding of the numerals and hands. Rumour has it, when the sun shines, you will be able to tell the time in Mansfield! Inside, the clock now just awaits electrification, before it once more returns to serving the town.

Supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), we have recently been fortunate to receive a substantial grant to help with restoration of the fabric of the church and also to better interpret the church and its associated heritage for visitors.

The first stage of this new interpretation are a church-wide collection of heritage displays which chart the history of St Mary Magdalene church through the ages, associated Hucknall-born famous people and some of the events which have helped shape the town.

Shortly, a collection of supporting literature in the form of tour guides will be available to help visitors explore the church and its world-renowned heritage.

For further information, check out the heritage pages of this website where PDF versions of the tour guides can also be downloaded.

We were visited by a BBC4 film crew and presenter back in April, gathering footage of Ada Lovelace’s last resting place, as part of a BBC4 documentary on her life, works and legacy that aired in the autumn.

Last week, attention turned to putting right the last few details of the south transept build, choosing fixtures and furniture, and tidying up other areas of the church.

With the end in sight for our south transept project, changes are now minimal but there’s still plenty to report.

The keen eyed amongst you, may have noticed some subtle changes towards the back of church, as redundant pipework has been removed from beside the tower archway to help neaten the area.

During Saturday’s ‘clean up day’, an army of volunteers removed cobwebs, polished woodwork and swept away the dust created by the new build, that seems to collect everywhere in church.

The south transept door has received a new coat of paint, to match the inside of our new toilet doors and the internal frame, now sports the same purple as the baptistry railings.

It’s long been a wish to have stackable chairs and folding tables for our refreshments area. We will soon have chairs in two different colours, plus square, white tables that ‘flip up’ and stack together, allowing us to make the most of the space we have created in the south transept.

An integrated fridge and dishwasher now sit beneath our new sink area and new crockery is ready for refreshments when the furniture arrives.

Our new visitor interpretation will soon be ready and the baptistry especially, will be undergoing a significant transformation. Look out for news on how we’ll be adding these new ways to help strengthen our position as an ‘invitational church’.

Click here to download a PDF of the week 9 update.

Don’t forget to check back next week…

Though internal developments are no longer as obvious, there are still fundamental changes taking place behind the partition and work on the tower has begun.

There have been lots of tradesmen on site in the past week, installing our new fridge, our dishwasher and a new water heater. They have also started plumbing in the new toilets.

One significant change, is the installation of the Corian worktops that finish off the servery and sink areas. Though delivered in two pieces, an invisible join has created a seamless centrepiece. Mosaic tiles complete the space above the sink, matching those in the toilets.

After an initial clean on Friday night and Saturday morning, the decorator returned, yesterday and finished off the new coat of paint to all walls and boxed-in pipework.

One thing that everyone will already be aware of, is the erection of scaffolding around the church tower. Whilst this is unsightly, it is actually the real focus of the HLF award we received for restoration of the fabric of the building.

Once the scaffolding is all in place, Smiths of Derby will be removing our four clock faces and taking them away for refurbishment. Close-ups of the faces show just how much this is needed. Whilst removed, the clock mechanism will be electrified and manual winding, that has served Hucknall for the last 131 years, will come to an end.

At the back of church, the old baptistry is still undergoing its transformation, the most noticeable of which must surely be the colour change to the railings. Though a dramatic departure from the blue, purple is a common colour around church and once the new interpretation is in place, a theme will be evident.

Monday morning sees a ‘snagging’ meeting where any little niggles will be addressed during the following week.

Click here to download a PDF of the week 8 update.

Don’t forget to check back next week…

As work in the south transept enters the final stages, you will no doubt have noticed other changes towards the back of church.

The wooden screen that used to be at the base of the tower, behind the curtain, has now been relocated in the south transept at the front of the south aisle, to match those at the front of the pews each side of the nave. The south transept floor tiling is now almost complete, with just a few replacements required, to create as even a surface as possible.

Our new servery base is now in position, awaiting the Corian worktop, which should arrive at the end of next week.

Our new kitchen area is beginning to take shape, with high level cupboards and sink base unit arriving. The new rubber flooring has also been fitted.

The sanitary wear for our new toilets has also arrived and just needs to be plumbed in.

The iron railings that front the baptistry are also undergoing a makeover and the undercoat has already been applied. When finished, our visitors will be welcomed by rich purple with gold highlights, in keeping with the interpretation panels and display cabinets.

Our new lobby area now sports its glass door and the glass partition at the top of the accessibility ramp is also in place. The white sheets in the photograph, represent areas that will carry our new logo and a Mary Magdalene message. An oak-topped hand rail will soon be installed, along the edge of the ramp.

Unfortunately, the tower scaffolding has been put back a week and is now planned to start next Tuesday, 10th March.

Click here to download a PDF of the week 7 update.

Don’t forget to check back next week…