Reclaiming the Undercroft
All Souls has a large expanse of space underneath the Chancel which us known as the Undercroft. This space is made up of a series of rooms which are accessed from the Church by a stone flight of stairs which enter the current kitchen area. This room was originally the choir robing room and had its own entrance from the car park as well as easy access to the choir stalls!
The next room, complete with its rib vaulted ceiling, was originally the choir practice room and must have had a wonderful acoustic and sound amazing with a large choir in such an intimate space. This room is the largest room downstairs and is currently used as a meeting room and church hall.
Leading on from the choir room is a small room, again with its single span rib vaulted ceiling, and complete with its own open fire and safe (which is shrouded in mystery as the key is missing). Legend has it that this was a private Chapel for the priest to say his daily offices, whether this is true we are not sure.
The final room which extends out from under the north side of the chancel was the sacristy. This room had its own entrance to Blenheim Grove (door previously blocked up) and a door out to the the Cloister and had facilities with its own sink and piscina for preparation of the elements for the Mass.
Our Undercroft has been under utilised for over a decade. The fabric of the building has suffered over the years with crumbling stone caused by damp and water ingress and the former sacristy suffered major damp and damage when it's roof was stolen. Major work is required to bring this area of the church back up to a satisfactory and habitable condition and we are in the early phases of cleaning up this area so we utilise it for our activities appropriate to our mission and social outreach.
The Sacristy
Due to the theft of our roof and the extensive damage that was caused to the sacristy, resulting in damp and damage to our vestments and other valuable items, the decision was made to move the most valuable items upstairs into the former Lady Chapel and create a new Sacristy which is also closer to the main body of the Church.
As part of our celebrations for the Queens Birthday in 2016, we undertook a Clean for the Queen Day where members of our Church a Community all got together to remove rubbish and take out the old cupboards and storage in the former Sacristy so we can develop these areas.
As part of our celebrations for the Queens Birthday in 2016, we undertook a Clean for the Queen Day where members of our Church a Community all got together to remove rubbish and take out the old cupboards and storage in the former Sacristy so we can develop these areas.
The last part of this project was to move our huge original cupboard up to the new Sacristy and source an appropriate wardrobe for vestment storage upstairs and another Sacristans cupboard in the smallest room in the Undercroft. The pictures below show what we have achieved and we hope this area is now befitting of our worship space.
The Cloister
All Souls was originally connected to the Vicarage by means of a covered Cloister. A door in the original Sacristy entered into the covered cloister area and then a further door led into the vicarage. The priest was certainly not meant to get wet as he moved between his home and the church as the structure is ample in size and makes a large covered area before opening into a small courtyard which is enclosed on three sides and would have overlooked the vicarage garden.
Since the the vicarage was sold and the priest no longer needed to use this area, it fell into disuse and became an unseen area used only by pigeons who used the peace and quiet and the safety of the beams to roost at their leisure. The area became further isolated and unused due to the erection of heavy duty security fencing after the theft of our roof.
As part of our efforts to revitalise the Undercroft area of All Souls, work has been undertaken by to reclaim this area and return it to an area of peace, tranquility and a place that people may use for contemplation.
The pigeons were removed and netting installed to keep the birds out but not restrict the openness of the cloister. Once the area was bird free we were finally able to remove the years of rubbish that had accumulated in the area, pressure wash the excrement that covered the tiled floor and reclaim the grassed area from the weeds and briars that had claimed the area.
Now that the area is once more a respectable space, we are hopeful that it will benefit from landscaping and a sensory garden as part of the Community Garden project, as well as the provision of tables that can be used for our soup kitchen and church events.
Since the the vicarage was sold and the priest no longer needed to use this area, it fell into disuse and became an unseen area used only by pigeons who used the peace and quiet and the safety of the beams to roost at their leisure. The area became further isolated and unused due to the erection of heavy duty security fencing after the theft of our roof.
As part of our efforts to revitalise the Undercroft area of All Souls, work has been undertaken by to reclaim this area and return it to an area of peace, tranquility and a place that people may use for contemplation.
The pigeons were removed and netting installed to keep the birds out but not restrict the openness of the cloister. Once the area was bird free we were finally able to remove the years of rubbish that had accumulated in the area, pressure wash the excrement that covered the tiled floor and reclaim the grassed area from the weeds and briars that had claimed the area.
Now that the area is once more a respectable space, we are hopeful that it will benefit from landscaping and a sensory garden as part of the Community Garden project, as well as the provision of tables that can be used for our soup kitchen and church events.
