Posted Wednesday 03 September 2008
Construction underway inside St Paul's and St George's. Image: Project 21 website.
The congregation of St Paul’s and St George’s Episcopal Church has returned to its refurbished building in York Place, Edinburgh, following the completion of Project 21, a multi-million pound extension programme.
The congregation marked the return on 30 August with a week of celebrations after nearly three years in temporary premises. The Grade A listed historic building - home to one of the largest Episcopal congregations in Scotland - has been transformed into a state of the art meeting place with the major work including:
- Internal balconies that almost double the capacity from 400 to 750 seats
- A three-storey extension to provide multi-functional meeting rooms
- A glass pavilion to provide a more welcoming entrance area
The accommodation also has improved access for users with disabilities, a new sound and vision system, a fully fitted kitchen to cater for large social gatherings and increased toilet facilities.
From a struggling congregation of less than 20 in 1985, St Paul’s and St George’s - known as P’s & G’s - is now one of the largest churches in the UK. Before the building work started, nearly 700 people were squeezing into the building each Sunday, coping with an ageing infrastructure, few toilets and a lack of space. Church members have so far raised £5.3 million towards the cost of the work that began in July 2006.
Dave Richards, Rector, said: “We are thrilled with the new facilities. It combines the best of the old with the best of the new. Anyone coming in will be pleasantly surprised. We want to be a church that is relevant to people - and this building will help us do that. People have been so generous in lots of ways. We invite anyone to come and join us.”
Alan Thomson, Director of Lee Boyd Architects, said: “Lee Boyd are proud to have served St. Paul’s & St George’s Church over the last seven years and hope that the new facilities live up to the expectations of all those who have made significant sacrifices to make this amazing project a reality. On behalf of our design team we wish the Church every success for the future, with their impressive building once again at the heart of the community.”
For more about the project please see the Project 21 and St Paul’s and St George’s websites.
