Church re-opens following £400,000 refurbishment

A CHURCH in Sonning Common has re-opened following a £400,000 refurbishment.

Christ the King Church in Sedgewell Road was closed from January while the roof was replaced and the inside revamped.

The renovation was funded by a legacy donation from Jill Scraggs, a former parishioner who left the proceeds from her house sale after her death.

On Saturday, the benefice held a tea party for about a dozen members of the congregation to celebrate the “spruced-up” space.

Nick Room, who is the treasurer and churchwarden for the parochial church council, hopes the new look will help to raise the church’s profile.

He said: “Many people don’t know we’re here and one of the reasons for doing this was partly to improve the building but partly to get people in to see what we do.”

Part of the work saw a dividing wall that had separated the church from the church hall being removed so more people can fit in.

Mr Room added: “At the front of the property there is a new sign on the road and we replicated the signage on the building, so people can tell it’s a church.”

Daniel Wadsworth, of Jessop and Cook Architects, oversaw the renovations, which included the installation of several solar panels on the roof.

He said: “The project started four years ago and it was to see the potential of this church and community hall. It needed a bit of TLC.

“Luckily there was a big legacy donation to help and we’ve added new facilities within the church, a new entrance and we spruced the place up.

“A lot of the money has gone on the roof, which was leaking and was coming apart.

“We’ve insulated it and we’ve put in solar panels with batteries at the back to bring down energy costs during the daytime, stores it up and can heat it at night-time. It’s less carbon-intensive. There are still a few things to be done yet, the car park has got to be resurfaced and we’re looking to put in some electric car charging points as well.”

Rector James Stickings said it was “joyful” to lead the first service in the new church.

He said: “The project took a lot longer than we had hoped, so it was a great relief to get back in here. We’ve had a lot of positive feedback.

“The congregation has been worshipping either at St John the Baptist in Kidmore End or at All Saints’ Church in Peppard, which are also part of the benefice.

“Here today there are church members from all three churches and representatives from the community.

Church member Sian Lovett, who has been a member of the church for three years, said: “It’s lovely to see it all opened up now and for us to be able to have better services with more people. It’s like having new life. We’re looking forward to having all sorts of different things.

“I’m hoping it will become a real hub for the village and a place where people will want to become part of the family.”