I was approached by the leadership of the Baptist church in South Molton nr Barnstaple planning to refurbish and extend their historic place of worship. The interiors were in need of renovation and some re-planning was necessary to avoid “through” rooms. The brief included a large kitchen, new toilets and a new multifunctional room to accommodate min 50 people. The options for expansion were limited as the only ground available was a strip of land along the street elevation as the church was set back from the road.  This location was however very conspicuous and although the historic church building wasn’t listed – the site was within boundaries of South Molton Conservation Area and very exposed (on top of the sloping access from the South to this town).

Conventionally the use of matching materials would be advisable – in this case red sandstone and slate, but the budget would not allow for such expense. This left me with only one option of developing a contemporary design; visually in-keeping with the main building. What we could afford was in principle just a lean-to structure that needed to complement a neo-gothic building behind. I introduced a feature window at the south end for the sake of the streetscape and the benefit of the light circulation into the interior. Having had a very fruitful and helpful discussion with the Conservation Officer I proposed to divide the long street elevation onto modules with buttress-like pilasters reflecting the original walls of the church. The narrow, prolonged rooflights and windows were to form a visual link to the original pointed arch windows and to give an impression of continued “ribbons of light” between two structures. Despite numerous objections of neighbours, who hoped to see the use of traditional materials the scheme sailed through the planning.

I managed the project through construction and even though we had to cope with some disappointing delays related to production of the feature window the results were worth waiting for. The church members love their old/new building. The multifunctional space opened variety of opportunities for reaching out to a local community.

Client: Baptist Church 
Location:  South Molton, Devon