IN THE doing up of a
church, as in the doing up of a house, the furniture can often be
an afterthought - unless, of course, it is a matter of replacing
pews, which often makes headlines.
If the furniture is
bought when most of the money for refurbishment has run out,
churches are forced into making decisions purely on cost. This
often results in stacks of plastic chairs that are suited more to a
classroom than to a historic building.
This concern is what
motivated the Church Buildings Council to come up with the idea of
running a "Design a Church Chair!" competition to raise the
standard of church chairs (News,
22 June 2012). There were 117 entries, in three categories.
Catherine Townsend, who helped to run the competition last year,
said that the council was concerned that, in many cases, "not much
thought was being put into replacement furniture."
"We wanted to promote
good quality, and encourage better design of church furniture," she
said. "We don't want furniture that would look better in NHS
waiting-rooms in our historic churches.
"Often, we found that
churches were tagging furniture on at the end of a reordering
project, whereas, in fact, good furniture design really completes a
scheme. We want churches to think 'Yes, this might be cheap now,
but what about its longevity?'"
CANON Janet Beadle looks
after three churches in Lincolnshire. In her 15 years there, she
has been through reordering projects in each of her churches.
Improvements at St
Firmin's, Thurlby, were forced on the PCC in dramatic fashion after
the floor collapsed during a wedding, and the bride and groom sank
with it.
"The pews had to be taken
out because they were absolutely rotten," Canon Beadle said. "In a
way, the floor falling through was a blessing, as we had to get on
with it. The Victorian pews we had were nothing special, but we
consulted round the village, and brought in chair companies, and
had around 15 or 16 samples that people could come and look at and
try out.
"We chose chairs with a
rush seat, as the seat could be taken out and replaced at minimal
cost if need be. They are cool in summer and warm in winter."
The chairs were paid for
by sponsorship: members of the congregation, wedding couples, or
families attending a baptism sponsored each chair, or, in some
instances, a chair leg. One of Canon Beadle's other congregations
has also replaced pews with chairs, among other improvements, and
has even been able to host a barn dance in the church.
The changes, which make
the church building more flexible, had won over even the most
reluctant parishioners, she said. "People who were against chairs
in the beginning have come round, and value the versatility it has
given us."
The Thurlby scheme has
been commended as an example of good practice by the Church of
England's senior churches officer, Jonathan Goodchild. While many
churches opt to replace pews with chairs, there are, he says, "some
really successful schemes [that] have involved the replacement of
pews with new ones, or by making the existing ones movable". In
fact, one of the winners of the church chair competition was a
stackable pew (News, 16 March 2012), which is already appearing in
more than 100 churches.
THE managing director of
Treske Furniture, Justin Bartlett, understands the financial
pressure on churches. His company has been making church furniture
since the 1970s. "Churches are under a lot of cost pressure. It
takes an enormous amount of fund-raising to pay for projects for
the fabric of the building, and they can often find they have
little left to sort out their furnishings.
"Obviously, we'd like
people to think of their furniture first, but we understand that it
is not always possible. Bills for preserving the building can mount
up; so churches have to economise on the furniture."
Treske sells a range of
pre-designed furniture, but also offers a bespoke service.
Individual chairs cost from £140 upwards, and top of the range is a
celebrant's chair that costs about £2500. A Treske chair with a
rush seat was commended by the church-chair-competition judges for
being particularly suited to rural churches.
"There is a quality issue
in churches," Mr Bartlett said. "Higher quality does mean more
expense, but bottom-end chairs and furniture are bottom-end for a
reason. We like to visit the church, where possible, to ensure
[that] the integrity of what is already in the building is kept
with the new furniture."
He understands that
church-furniture projects often take time, particularly when a
Chancellor and the DAC get involved. "We have to work very
carefully, as there are so many different views and bodies to be
consulted."
The climate for selling
church furniture was "not easy, but we're holding our heads up". He
believes firmly in the regenerative power of a church reordering
project - not just for the church, but for the whole community.
"Doing a church up does
have a regenerative effect. People take pride in it, and travel to
see it. Somewhere like Ripon Cathedral can expect a high amount of
visitors coming to see the changes, and that has a spin off for
shops and cafés and restaurants. Local pride in a good project
definitely filters out."
WAKEFIELD Cathedral,
which this year finished a £2.5-million restoration project, hopes
to see increased visitor numbers as a result. New chairs were
important in its plans to reorder the nave, and were the subject of
one of the first decisions made, the Dean, the Very Revd Jonathan
Greener, said.
"We had a very clear
vision of what was required. Right at the be- ginning of the
project, we chose the chairs. We allowed the congregation to test
them, and we chose wooden rather than fabric because of
durability.
"They had to have
strength and linkability, and stackability and detachability; and
we had to think about people getting in and out of the chairs, so
some have arms and some don't. We also tested for comfort for
people who are more amply proportioned.
"We also had a new set of
altar furniture from a local firm, who had done nothing like it
before. It was in oak and burr oak, and is delightful, and serves
our purpose, because it's mobile; it's very versatile. We wanted
quality furniture; we wanted to give something to successive
generations. Whatever we put in had to complement the space and
enhance it, if possible, tying together the old and the new."
For him, the success of
the project lies in the fact that he prefers to see the nave full
of furniture rather than clear. "I think that's a sign we have done
a successful project. Our new furniture is a pleasant addition to
the whole rather than just functional."
NICK CLARKE combined his
love of cabinet-making with his Christian commitment six years
ago, when he took the plunge and left his desk job to make
furniture full-time.
He specialises in making
one-off pieces for churches, including altars and lecterns, as
well as much simpler pieces needed to hide electrical equipment. He
also makes furniture for domestic use.
He works on his own from his
home in Bedfordshire, and many of the churches in the area display
his handiwork. "I have quite a deep experience of church life,
which helps me in my work," he said. "Church work doesn't pay the
bills, though, but fortunately the other sort of furniture does; so
that means I can indulge my love of church furniture. The thought
that I'm making something that has a fighting chance of lasting for
centuries is what I love."
Often, churches come to him
with an open brief. He spends time visiting and getting to know the
building, to ensure that what he makes will complement it. Although
price is always a factor, many PCCs and churches are also motivated
to create beautiful pieces of furniture that will be their gift to
future generations, he said.
"If I was making lots of
chairs, then I would be competing against cheaper imports, and I
wouldn't be able to compete; but because what I do is bespoke, and
I spend time with customers, then price isn't always the first
consideration for them."
His larger pieces can take
months of work to finish, and can cost between £2000 and £3000. "I
try not to charge very much, and often churches - though they don't
have money for heating or lighting - are left money in people's
wills for pieces like altars or other furniture.
"To add a piece to such
ancient and historical spaces is a real privilege."