The existing parish hall consists of two ground floor rooms: the Pritchard Room and the Hopkins Room. The photo below was taken on the day the builders moved in.
Here it is at the grand opening, being blessed by the Archbishop:
The ground floor of the new building contains a new kitchen, bar and parish office. Click the image below to see the full-size plans.
And here it is being used for a dinner with students from the Society of Jesus:
The new kitchen already allows food to be stored and prepared for parish functions. Up to now, it hasn't even been possible to keep food warm. Now it can be cooked on the premises! Because the kitchen is fully-fitted and checked for health and safety, we are able to use it, for example, to prepare food for charities like the Gatehouse, just across the road.
Next to the kitchen, there is a new, secure bar, complete with lockable hatch.
The Pritchard and Hopkins rooms have been redecorated, and more efficient heating installed. The screen that divides them has been replaced by something lighter and easier to open and close. This means that more can happen in the Parish because there are once again be two rooms that can be used independently.
Finally, there is a new parish office, which allows everything to run even more smoothly. There is more space for storage of important files and papers, and more desk space, so more people can work in the office at the same time. A more efficient office means that we can spend less time doing admin and more time looking after parishioners!
