The original west porch

The northern aisle, together with an outer porch at the west entrance, was built in 1873.

"Church architecture is not just about designing a practical building, it is also about beauty and belief." As early as 1998 there was a proposal for glass doors at the west end of the church to convey these ideas by opening the view from the street to the full length of the church, right up to the altar with its cross. The July 1998 Spire reported: "We have a beautiful church which we want to share with those who pass by. More than this, the glass doors would also state that this church is open and welcoming. It is a church which is active in proclaiming the mission and purposes of God in our community. Glass doors would help to open up the mystery of God's presence in our world."

St. James's Church is an important building for many people. For those who worship there it is a sacred place where God is known and where every member of the Body of Christ can feel at home. It is a much prayed-in building and one which makes the presence of God known in the community. For others who pass by it is obviously a church but, from Park Road and from the important turning into St. James's Road, it used to look rather dead.

The original restricted view

The building also had limitations for expanding the church's mission in today's world. More room was desperately needed for administrative work to be undertaken and for one-to-one confidential conversations, and there was a desire to create a building which reflected an attitude of openness to the world. There were many varied meetings during 2000 and 2001 to consider a range of ideas. Property needs were carefully considered as part of an extensive reconsideration of the Mission Action Plan. The church's architect was asked to help in achieving the M.A.P.'s aims and eventually the first proposals were drawn up.

The plan created:
• A view from the street through the whole length of the church to show that it was an open and active organisation.
• A place for the administrative load of the parish to be securely and effectively undertaken, and allowing the church to be staffed and open much more of the time.
• A small room for work with individuals.
• Compliance with accessibility legislation.

The plan envisaged removing the current west porch, which was in a poor state and was not part of the original building. However, the architect suggested that the brickwork and stonework from the west front of the porch should be retained and re-used in the new scheme. The scheme blended well with the rest of the church and this would help in the planning process. A major difference, however, was that the new construction would be lit naturally by a glass roof which would create a light and welcoming space.

June/July 2002 - The Official Launch of the Project to Develop the West Porch

The festival weekend

The project was named 'Opening Our Doors' and was introduced more widely at the Jubilee Open Day in June. A Festival Weekend & Launch of 'Opening Our Doors' was organised in July, not only to celebrate St. James's Day, but also to launch the project officially. It was hoped that planning permission would be granted in September, tenders issued in October and most of the fund raising done by December. The target was £100,000, with the hope that a third would come from events and donations, a third from charities and grants, and the remaining third from church reserves.

Following initial discussions in the summer of 2001 about how to provide some space to accommodate the increasing amounts of church administration, plans for a development of the West Porch were drawn up that autumn. A visit of the Diocesan Advisory Committee in December was encouraging. The P.C.C. supported the scheme in principle in January 2002 and a planning group was established.

The key

November 2002
After a series of very successful fundraising events, including the St. James’s Day Family BBQ, a Spire to Spire Sponsored Cycle Ride to Chichester, a Dream Auction, and a number of personal donations, funds reached the magnificent total of £30,000 - nearly a third of the way to achieving the target.

To help keep everyone up to date with how the 'Opening Our Doors' project was progressing, the symbol of a Key was developed, and the amount raised was added to it and updated each month in the magazine. 'Opening Our Doors' Key badges were designed. By wearing a badge people could not only help the project financially but also hopefully help spread the message about the project and its aims to the wider community.

January 2003
The Key showed that over £40,000 of the £100,000 needed had already been raised, a very encouraging position to be in at the start of the year. However, the large copper beech tree outside the church was causing a problem with the planning application because the planned foundations would interfere with its roots. This was to result in a delay and some extra cost.

Songs of Springtime

March 2003
The Tree Trust had been asked to provide guidance on the options available in relation to the beech tree that was holding up the planning application to the Council. Many people wrote to the council or signed a petition, and everybody continued with the campaign. Fundraising events continued and included a Quiz Night, David Brodowski's Concert and another concert, Songs of Springtime. There was also a Roving Supper where groups of six to eight people ate a starter in one house, moving on to another house for the main course and then to the church hall for a sweet.

October 2003
Following the granting of planning permission, the architect drew up more detailed plans and a new specification that went out to potential tenderers. However, tenders from the builders were much higher than the budgeted amount of £80,000 – they varied from £139,000 to £180,000 for the building works, which would take from 16-26 weeks. The intervention of the Council’s tree specialist was responsible for a good deal of the extra cost. This was obviously enormously disappointing and meant that the tendering or building specification would have to be modified.

November 2003
A meeting was arranged with the architect to discuss possible ways of bringing the costs down. He suggested an alternative roof window mechanism that was less expensive. It was decided that the lavatory, which was part of the original plans, would not be included as there were already very good disabled-access facilities in the church hall. It was also decided that internal decoration could be carried out using volunteers. However, it was agreed that the design of the doors should not be changed, as the concept of seeing right through glass doors from street to beautiful interior was most important. Read the 2003 'Opening Our Doors' Update.

Spring 2004
The P.C.C. formally accepted the revised tender from the contractor DML Ltd., and authorised the architects Carden & Godrey to draw up a contract based on this tender. The Faculty application was sent to the Diocesan Advisory Committee, and the architect and contractor visited the site. In March 2004 DML started work on the site. See the photographs Starting Work on the Site. The contract was signed in April 2004. Then the existing porch was demolished in preparation for the new building and the stonework, tiles, some of the brickwork and various fixtures and fittings were kept to be used in building the new greatly enlarged porch. See the photographs Taking Down the Old Porch.

Building work

Summer and Autumn 2004
The building of the walls was started in June but only some of it was to plan. When the walls reached about two metres high, St. James’s realised that the walls were being built in the wrong place and so out of position with mistakes in the positioning of doorways, windows and buttresses. The architect also became dissatisfied with the quality of workmanship in the bricklaying and there were various other problems. This was pointed out to the contract administrators and the builders and building was stopped until all this could be resolved. Work ceased and there was a long pause while many meetings took place between the architect, the contractors and the steering group. The whole process was unbelievably difficult and required a good deal of negotiation, led by the steering group, who had to fight rising costs and minimise disruption and delay. There had to be an adjustment of the position of the west wall which required extra piling. This resulted in some delay which meant that the project was behind schedule by about four weeks. (How often is a building project on schedule?) Eventually St. James’s was reassured that the problems had been solved so the original walls were redismantled to ground level, and it was agreed that building should recommence in February. Read the 2004 'Opening Our Doors' Update.

The new west porch

February 2005
The work did restart in February and once the piles and the base were complete the walls started to grow fairly rapidly. See the photographs Starting Building. There was proper supervision, correct materials and a bricklayer of sufficient skill to do the work to the required standard. The immediate effects were not dramatic because the correct setting up was a slow yet important part of the process. The first courses of bricks were put in place, and the existing brick and stonework that would form part of the internal walls of the new building were cleaned.

Spring/Summer 2005
Gradually during this period the building works progressed well and all could see the development of the new extension. The brickies finished the brickwork and the master bricklayer has done a fine job on the red rubber bricks around the arch. The electricians have been in and, with a few glitches, have sorted out all the electrical fixings. BT have installed their connection, carpenters, glaziers, roofers and most particularly the installers of the fine roof lights have all done their work. A group of volunteers decorated the interior and finally the project was announced complete and a great success. Read the 2005 'Opening Our Doors' Update.

October 2005
The Bishop of Kensington officially opened the new west porch by throwing open the glass doors and leading the community into church for Parish Communion. Read the article Our Doors are Open. The doors succeeded in giving a view from the road down the whole length of the nave to the chancel with its newly floodlit altar, together with the ongoing life within, thus fulfilling the vision of opening up the church for all to see and join in.