The Oxford Oratory Reaffirmation and Renewal Campaign

New building: Week 10 - More bricks

noreply@blogger.com (Oliver Craddock) — Tue, 22 May 2012 16:18:00 +0000

...8000 more bricks in fact, in the last week.

Some work has been done on the foundations around the edge of the building:

And the ground floor ceiling in the Parish Centre has been removed to put in the steel bars that will take the weight of the library's 10,000 books.

New Building: Week 9 - Bricks

noreply@blogger.com (Oliver Craddock) — Mon, 14 May 2012 16:57:00 +0000

New Building: Week 8 - Floors and walls

noreply@blogger.com (Oliver Craddock) — Mon, 07 May 2012 12:59:00 +0000

Last week there were some important visitors to the site:

Here are the finished foundations.

Then some concrete beams arrived...

...which went on top of the foundations...

...to form a floor:

Here is another view of that gap where the stairs were. You can also see a glimpse of the first walls rising.

And of course, we wouldn't want to forget the drains.

New Building: Week 7 - A hole in the wall

noreply@blogger.com (Oliver Craddock) — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 17:59:00 +0000

The foundations of the new accommodation block are finished, and more bricks are arriving each day. The walls should start to materialise very soon.

Last week we showed you the gap where the stairs used to be. This week we can show the the gap where the wall next to them used to be.

...and here is where the wall has gone

...and, yes, that's the window that was in the wall.

Part of the new work is to straighten the wall out so that the stairs open directly into the outside world. This will give the fathers access to their bedrooms upstairs without having to go through the Parish centre.

A Cardinal Patron

noreply@blogger.com (Oliver Craddock) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 11:51:00 +0000

We are very pleased to announce a new patron of our fundraising campaign: His Eminence, George Cardinal Pell, Archbishop of Sydney.

Cardinal Pell is a graduate of Oxford University. As part of his visit to the city in 2009, he celebrated Mass for the beatification of Blessed John Henry Newman in our church.

He writes:

“I have very many happy memories of the Catholic student community at Oxford from my own time there, and I am only too happy to endorse the appeal as a way of acknowledging the splendid tradition of the Oratorians at Oxford and the many blessings they have brought to Catholic life at the University. I am particularly pleased to see that the spirit of Blessed John Henry Newman continues to be preserved and transmitted at England's greatest university.”

New Building: Week 6 - Asbestos and Stairs

noreply@blogger.com (Oliver Craddock) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 10:24:00 +0000

Here is a view of the finished foundations, complete with drains.

There was some asbestos left in the building that had to be taken out. In the papers that were cleared out of the Parish centre before the work started, we have just discovered the health and safety report that said the asbestos had to be put in!

The stairs of the Parish centre have been chopped off half way down at the bend in the staircase. The new staircase, which will lead to the accommodation, will go in a straight line, coming out to a new, separate doorway next to the entrance to the Parish centre.

Meanwhile, the temporary partition in the upper room has been taken down. It was previously a storage room for the overflow from the sacristy and library. This is where the librarian's office will be in the new library.

Campaign Total: £2,124,734.23

noreply@blogger.com (Oliver Craddock) — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 10:00:00 +0000

The total raised so far is:

£2,124,734.23	16/04/2012
£2,123,069.71	10/04/2012

New Building: Week 5 - Drains and Bricks

noreply@blogger.com (Oliver Craddock) — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 09:33:00 +0000

The drains being dug into the foundations:

Preparations for the new lift:

A new window behind the old bar of the Parish centre:

...and the first delivery of bricks:

Information Functions

noreply@blogger.com (Oliver Craddock) — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 09:12:00 +0000

The Fathers of the Oxford Oratory would like to invite you to attend an Information Function for the Reaffirmation & Renewal Campaign. These Information Functions are a chance for you to learn a bit more about our building and fundraising projects. There is a short, informal presentation and an opportunity to ask any questions you may have. All are very welcome.

The upcoming dates are:

Wednesday 18th April at 8:00pm
Saturday 28th April at 2:00pm
Friday 18th May at 8:00pm
Wednesday 30th May at 3:00pm

Numbers are limited to allow plenty of opportunity for questions and feedback, though you are welcome to bring guests. To book a place, please e-mail Fr Nicholas at campaign@oxfordoratory.org.uk or phone 01865 315 816.

Presentations take place in the Guild Room, which can be accessed via the Lodge.

New Building: Week 4 - Pumping Concrete

noreply@blogger.com (Oliver Craddock) — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 16:01:00 +0000

Last week, the builders finished digging the foundations.

Then lots of pipes arrived…

…and a truck-ful of concrete…

…which was pumped through the pipes…

…through the Parish centre…

…into the foundations!

Now the work above ground can begin!

New Campaign Website

noreply@blogger.com (Oliver Craddock) — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 17:28:00 +0000

If you haven't noticed it already, take a look at our new Campaign website:

campaign.oxfordoratory.org.uk

It's not just a new look — there are new pages telling you all about our building projects and how we are funding them.

Once you're there, you can even subscribe to the latest news updates via e-mail.

New Building: Week 3 - Still digging

noreply@blogger.com (Oliver Craddock) — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 17:04:00 +0000

Digging of the foundations is now nearly complete. The concrete will arrive early in week 4 to build the foundations, and then the bricks will arrive.

This is good news. Not only are we making good progress, but we are on schedule — we promised Somerville College that we'd have all the noisy work done before the students get back next term.

The window at the east end on the ground floor of the Parish centre has now been taken out, and the wall beneath it removed too. The same will happen to the window at the west end. This will make it easier to get building materials and equipment straight through to the building site. Once the new building is done, the west window will become the new bar. The east window will be replaced by french windows that will allow parties to spread outside in the summer.

New Building: Week 2 - Foundations

noreply@blogger.com (Oliver Craddock) — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 21:00:00 +0000

“Like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation...”

—1 Corinthians 9:10

New Building: Week 2 - Diggers!

noreply@blogger.com (Oliver Craddock) — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 17:48:00 +0000

The diggers have arrived...

New Building: Week 1

noreply@blogger.com (Oliver Craddock) — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 14:43:00 +0000

Bright and early on Monday morning this week the builders arrived to start work.

One of the first jobs was to build a wall — this was to test the colour of the bricks and mortar that the architect has chosen. The inspector from the council has approved it, so we can press on with the proper walls. Here is the wall being built:

The Pritchard Room has been cleared and a protective layer has been put down on the floor. They have taken out the old fireplace.

The scaffolding has gone up outside the building to remove the fireplace. This corner will become the new lift shaft that provides access to the new rooms and library upstairs.

Meanwhile, in fundraising news, the total raised so far for the Campaign is £2,093,414.22.

Blessing the building work

noreply@blogger.com (Oliver Craddock) — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 17:09:00 +0000

The builders will be arriving on Monday 12th March to begin work on the new accommodation block, Parish Centre and library.

There will be a short ceremony to bless the beginning of the work on Sunday 11th March, after the High Mass.

Thank you to all who have responded already to the need to raise more funds for the next stage. We have what we need to put the building up, but not to make it ready for use. We must raise a further £270,000 by the summer to move smoothly onto the next stage.

Breakfast with the Grand Master

noreply@blogger.com (Oliver Craddock) — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 18:59:00 +0000

Today we were very honoured to welcome His Most Eminent Highness Fra' Matthew Festing as our guest to breakfast.

Fra' Matthew is the Prince and Grand Master of the Order of Malta, and a patron of our Campaign. The Order is descended from the Knights Hospitaller, founded in Jerusalem in 1048 to help and protect pilgrims. Today, the Order provides medical and social care, as well as humanitarian aid around the world.

Information functions and Campaign total

noreply@blogger.com (Oliver Craddock) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 20:47:00 +0000

Unfortunately Fr Nicholas has had to cancel the Information Function planned for this Saturday, 25th February as he has to be in Birmingham that afternoon.

However, there are still two more coming up next month: Friday 9th March at 8pm and Saturday 24th March at 11am. Please e-mail Fr Nicholas, campaign@oxfordoratory.org.uk if you would like to make a booking, or phone 01865 315 816.

Information functions are a chance for you to learn a bit more about our building and fundraising projects and ask any questions you may have, and all are very welcome.

As of today, the total raised so far is £2,073,319,98. That's almost £30,000 more in the last three weeks!

Meanwhile, the Parish Centre is almost completely empty, and just last week we had people in planning where to put the scaffolding. The builders are busy getting ready to move in any day now. We'll be sure to let you know when they do!

Over £2m raised! More restoration in Church!

noreply@blogger.com (Oliver Craddock) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:07:00 +0000

The current Campaign total is £2,045,749.47 which makes us almost half-way to our total of £5 million. As you may have read, this means we can now start work on the new building.

Meanwhile, plans for the restoration of the shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes are underway.

...and while that's going on, the designers are busy coming up with something for the ceiling.

Read all about it in our latest newsletter:

New Building to start soon

noreply@blogger.com (Oliver Craddock) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:57:00 +0000

After many months of preparation, work on the nerw accommodation block and parish rooms will begin at the end of this month. The work is bring carried out by Stepnell Ltd of Rugby.

At the moment we have committed ourselves to the £750,000 needed to put the building up and make it weather-proof. To fit out the accommodation and parish rooms we need to raise further funds by the summer. We are waiting for the exact figures for this, but current estimates are that £270,000 is required for the next stage.