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.

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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.

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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.

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It’s been another busy week and some of the finishing touches are being applied to the build, allowing us to get a feel for how our project will look when finished.

The oak flooring is now in place (but covered with a layer of foam sheeting to protect it), and the workmen have almost finished fitting the light oak wall cladding to the new build. Floor tiling along the west side of the south transept has also begun, using tiles found beneath the old floor and the 400 reclaimed tiles.

The base of the servery is now on site, complete with doors and low profile handles.

Decorators have painted the two toilets and we have a feature colour wall in each, to help create a contrast for the visually impaired, allowing them to better locate the facilities when needed and doors when leaving.

In the old baptistry, the stonemason has finished restoring our Saxon coffin lids, and they are now mounted within the new display cabinets. You may also have noticed the Byron funeral wreath, removed from the south wall to be examined and professionally cleaned. The gold, Byron profile sculpture will join it, as soon as the workmen have access.

Next week there will be developments outside of church, too. Workmen will begin erecting the scaffolding to allow access to the tower, roof and clock faces. Once in place, work on the fabric of the building will start.

Click here to download a PDF of the week 6 update.

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A great deal has happened since last week and the new build is now entering the final stages…

The cupboards in the baptistry that have been made into display cabinets have now been painted a lovely shade of light purple, ready for our Saxon coffin lids to be mounted, later this week.

Meanwhile, lots of materials have been delivered to site, ready for the finishing touches to the new build.

Now that the new structures are in place, it’s interesting to consider all of the new spaces we’ll soon be using and getting used to…

Click here to download a PDF of the week 5 update.

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With all the extra groundwork and plumbing required for our new facilities finished, the new build has started but not without further discoveries…

1. Last week, a small digger began to create a deep hole for our new pumping station, as part of the extra plumbing required to support our new toilets. Six feet down and workmen found yet more bones.

2. Meanwhile, the inside of the south transept is undergoing dramatic change with the start of the new build. Workmen have created the basic structure for our new toilets, exit lobby and sink/drainer area. A special foam and plasterboard will be fitted to all walls to soundproof the new toilets. You may notice that our smaller toilet is slightly taller than the large one. This will allow the memorial tablet set into the south wall, to still be seen in its entirety.

Click here to download a PDF of the week 4 update.

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We now have the foundation of a new, lowered floor in the south transept and are nearly ready for the new build.

1. After the excitement of the previous week’s burial finds, the workmen spent a much less eventful week, installing lowered timbers across the entire south transept. Rot was found beneath the old toilet, so the wood there is now new but the original joists are being reused wherever possible. New boarding now covers almost all of the south transept floor. Once the floor is finished, these changes will see an end to the uneven surface we had before. Reclaimed quarry tiles are being sourced for the right hand side walkway, to match those found elsewhere in the church.

2. Our Saxon coffin lids have now been cleaned and the broken one, restored. The stonemason is even trying to recreate the chisel marks on the surface of the repaired area, so that the restoration is as sympathetic as possible.

Next week, should see the workmen start building the walls of our new toilet and servery, so there should be dramatic changes to see in future updates.

Click here to download a PDF of the week 3 update.

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A lot has happened in the last week and the scene behind the partition is almost unrecognisable!

1. Our church today is the result of many, major extensions and developments, so it’s of little surprise to find that workmen uncovered a few ‘secrets’ this week, beneath our old floor.

Once the floorboards were removed, there were a number of important discoveries. A single bone beside the pulpit and three large gravestones beneath the old serving areas, are likely to be the final resting places of some of those named on the south wall memorial, that could be seen in the old toilet. The picture (left), shows roughly where the finds were made.

2. To create a level floor throughout the church, the timbers that hold up the floor in the south transept are being lowered and already, the altered joists are being refitted.

3. On Saturday 31st January, work also began on restoration of our Saxon coffin lids. Both are being cleaned and the broken one will be pinned back together. Once repaired and cleaned, these will be securely mounted into the two display cases that have been created in the wooden panelling of the baptistry, beside their own interpretation panel.

Click here to download a PDF of the week 2 update.

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This is your weekly update on how things are progressing with our developments to the south transept. New updates will be posted here each week on Saturday evening.

We now have a partition in church! Workmen built this wooden wall on Monday 19th and it’s here to protect the church from disruption caused by the building work on the other side. We aren’t allowed to enter the south transept now but these poster updates will show pictures of what’s happening, so that we can all see how things are progressing.

On Monday 26th, workmen will be taking down the old toilet and kitchen block. Once that has been removed, work will start on a new floor for the whole of the south transept.

Light oak floorboards will cover all of the area shown by brown lines in the drawing below and our new toilets and kitchen area will be clad in light oak, tongue and groove panels. Our new, hard wearing, serving area worktop will be made in a colour that matches the surround of our stained glass windows. You can see samples of all these materials in the pictures, below.

Click here to download a PDF of the week 1 update.

Don’t forget to check back next week…