OUR MISSION:
Transform
WE NEED YOUR HELP TO TRANSFORM THE HEART OF WHEATLEY - TO MAKE IT YOUR AMAZING SPACE…
Church… community… contemplation… comfort… culture… classes… creativity… concerts… clubs… caring… cinema…….
What’s happening?
Over the past two years, funding has gone well, with contributions from grant funding bodies and a large number of individuals living in the village. What’s happened so far?
Removal of the long pews, replaced by chairs for greater flexibility
Opening of the Community Larder
A range of plays, concerts, talks and exhibitions
Rehearsal space used for Choirs
The Clubs and Societies Fair
A meeting place for Ukrainian refugees
How much will it cost? £650,000
How much has been raised so far? £505,000
Grants applied for £ 75,000
Help us raise the last £ 70,000
So, whilst further applications for grants are being made, we are looking once more to our many supporters to help us achieve this goal. At a time when the cost of living is rapidly increasing, this is not the best time to be asking the community for help. But the dream of making St Mary’s a space for everyone - for classes, meetings, exhibitions, concerts and plays - is something we cannot ignore.
There has been increasing activity at St Mary’s. The Weekly Larder (Thursday from 2.30 to 4.00 pm) sees a regular turnout of 70 or more villagers, helping to combat waste with free food and vegetables and optional donations to local charities. These have recently included funds for youth groups such as Pulse, for clothes and English lessons for our Ukrainian guests and for the Windmill Restoration.
Future events before the closure for building works include a concert of Jazz Music on Saturday 18th of February by Alyn Shipton and friends and a concert by the Angelorum Choir on Sunday 16th April. (See Events page for details)
Can you help us to reach our target?
Take a look at our Events page for upcoming exciting activities taking place in St. Mary’s.
Art Space
A very successful art exhibition was held in May.
Many thanks to Michael Worthington and Becky Paton for their generous contribution to the Revival Project.
Wheatley Larder
Held every Thursday afternoon from 2.30 to 4pm, the Wheatley Larder passes on waste food from Supermarkets and raises money for good local causes from donations.
Our History
St Mary the Virgin church was originally built during the 18th Century but was so disliked by the Bishop of Oxford, Samuel Wilberforce, that he had a new church designed and built by George Edmund Street. It is a grade II* listed example of Gothic Revival architecture.
1857
CHURCH BUILT
In January 1856 an agreement was signed for the erection of the new church at the cost of £1,763 16s 6d. The church is constructed from local Wheatley limestone.
1995
RENOVATION OF TOWER & SPIRE
Thanks to the generous support of the Wheatley community the church tower and spire were completely renovated.
Today
RESTORATION PROJECT
Today we have an ambitious project to complete but one that will put the heart back into Wheatley. It will allow us all to use the church as a warm, inviting, flexible, community space.
Our future
In 1855, when Edward Elton was planning to build a new church in Wheatley, he not only had the support of Bishop Wilberforce, but also had both a strong faith and a clear vision. He wanted to see Wheatley transformed from a village where drunkenness and poverty were rife to a law-abiding Christian community. He saw the new church building as a tool to promote that change.
Our challenges today are in some respects different, but modern life throws up many issues. In particular, isolation is a problem for many and is not confined to the elderly. It is time to reflect on Edward Elton’s original purpose for the church and to develop a new vision, bringing the building up to modern standards of comfort, and once again promoting it as a focus for the whole community.
NEW FLOORING
Upgrading the floor is one of the main costs of the project. The plan is to renew the whole floor to give a hard-wearing, practical surface. The Victorian tiles in the chancel will be cleaned, repaired and re-laid. This is one of the aspects of the church that we want to highlight – and to celebrate!
NEW KITCHEN & ELEVATED WORK ROOM
The plan is to remodel the back of the church with the addition of a pop-up server at the end of the north aisle, to create space for additional toilets and for a new staircase to the gallery. Glazing round the gallery will create a new meeting room or office area.
UPGRADING THE HEATING & LIGHTING
We intend to install under-floor heating beneath the new floor. The lighting also requires upgrading to bring it up to modern standards, reduce the running costs, and to give greater flexibility.
NEW FLEXIBLE LAYOUT / COMMUNITY SPACE
We propose to replace the majority of the pews with stackable chairs. To maintain the atmosphere of the building, the shorter pews will be kept and the chancel (the area around the altar, which is the holiest part of the church) will be left largely unchanged. This will give us greater flexibility in our style of worship, as well as enabling us to open up the church to the wider community.
Get Involved
We need your support to make this Project work. The greater the involvement of the community, the greater the chances of being awarded substantial grants.
SIGN UP TO KEEP IN TOUCH
Subscribe to our newsletter to keep up with events and milestones - we won’t bombard your inbox, we will just keep you informed once a month or so.
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
People are the most valuable resource. If you feel inspired and can give us a little of your time we would be enormously grateful. Get in touch to get involved.
MAKE A DONATION
Donate now, or pledge a lump sum in the future, or pledge regular donations over a number of months to help us revive this amazing space for future generations.
HISTORICAL ANECDOTE, THANKS TO THE DETECTIVE WORK OF DR WALKER
Hanging in the bell tower is a tiny bell with a love story to tell. The tale is the stuff of a romantic novel, set against the backdrop of the Russian Revolution. The hero is Dugald Hancock, a gallant captain who served with The Buffs in Troitsa, where a local bell tower was used as an observation post. In 1918 he returned to Wheatley with the bell as a war trophy and gifted it to the Rev. Maurice Bell in 1921, as a sweetener for secretly marrying the Reverend’s daughter, Vivien, a year earlier!
To read more memories like this, visit our memories page.