Go-ahead given for a £1.5 million transformation of a Harborough landmark

A major Market Harborough church has got the decisive go-ahead to carry out a stunning £1.5 million transformation.

St Dionysius Church is now poised to undergo the most dramatic revamp in its proud 700-year history in 2021.

A dedicated team has worked feverishly behind the scenes for the last 15 years on a complex masterplan to haul the medieval church into the 21st century.

The Church of England centre of worship at the heart of Harborough’s High Street has now been given final permission by the Chancellor to the Diocese of Leicester to press the starter button.

Breaking the news to the Harborough Mail, the Rev James Pickersgill, team vicar at St Dionysius, said: “We are delighted.

“It’s bittersweet in a way because we are living through incredibly difficult times at the moment with the coronavirus.

“But we will come through this crisis and our massive project at St Di’s is a very positive thing to focus on and target next year.”

The popular local churchman added: “The Chancellor to the Diocese of Leicester has just granted us the faculty.

“That means we can now start to plan the scheme in greater detail and explore different ways of raising the cash to fund this.

“This is the final piece in the jigsaw after many years putting the in-depth blueprint together.

“We can celebrate at last – and it’s a huge relief as well.

“But we have to put this into perspective as so many people across Harborough and throughout the country are being seriously affected by the current emergency.”

James said the ambitious nuts and bolts initiative would make the iconic church, which stretches back to the Middle Ages, fit and ready for the 2020s.

“We will be much better placed to serve our fantastic community in Harborough when this work is completed.

“The project will turn us into a much more effective and relevant social hub as well as a religious one,” he said.

“We have to move with the times.

“And although people’s minds may well be elsewhere right now this landmark decision is a real chink of light in these dark days.”

The outstanding features of the new reborn Grade 1-listed St Dionysius will be:

- A new floor with underfloor heating and new seats as the Victorian pews are ripped out

- A new kitchen with modern equipment and improved serving facilities in North aisle and two extra toilets

- Better accessibility through the South and West doors and reopened Priest’s door as the font is moved to the South aisle

- A new audiovisual system with screens in the galleries and side aisles together with enhanced sound system for speech and music

- A refurbished church organ

- Boosted, updated low energy lighting

- Improved stairs leading up the galleries and office

- A new flexible meeting facility in North aisle and improved storage in both aisles with Lady Chapel relocated to the quieter South aisle.

Dynamo Rennie Quinn, 76, has helped to supercharge the incredible vision to reinvent one of Leicestershire’s most historic churches.

Rennie, of Great Bowden, told the Mail in February: “This is desperately needed – and flexibility is our watchword.

“We are setting out to make St Dionysius a much more flexible resource.”

The devoted church warden added: “We want to transform our church into a fabulous, open space for everyone to enjoy and to use.

“This is all about creating a much more accessible, inviting and welcoming place.”

Saluting his irrepressible colleague, James said: “Rennie and his team have been absolutely fantastic.

“They have shown immense energy and dedication to plough so much time and energy into driving this through.

“Receiving this final approval from the Chancellor is real testament to their expertise, intelligence and skills.

“We are proud of them and we are very grateful for their magnificent contribution as well.”

The root and branch refurbishment will take about nine months so the 300-strong congregation will have to find somewhere else in Harborough to worship.

“We are really looking forward to transforming St Di’s in 2021 but for now we are focusing on the here and now.

“We have set up a bank of volunteers to help the elderly, vulnerable and self-isolating in Harborough with food and medical supplies,” stressed James.

“We are always looking for new helpers to support our community in such unprecedented times.

“We are also happy to open up St Dionysius – which, of course, is closed – as a testing station if needs be.”

If you would like to step forward to help Harborough’s Anglican team support local people then please email James at: james@harborough-anglican.org.uk

You can find out more about how the Anglican team is tackling the coronavirus crisis here: http://www.harborough-anglican.org.uk/coronavirus-information