Poole homeless charity, Routes to Roots, is delighted to confirm that restoration work at its future permanent base in Hill Street continues to make excellent progress. Preservation of the former 19th Century church remains at the forefront of the renovations and two specialists in their field, Stonemason Sarah Klopper and church organ expert, Geoffrey Morgan have joined the restoration team on a pro bono basis.
As part of the Listed Building consent, which was granted to the charity earlier this year, Routes to Roots is required to safeguard features of special architectural and historic interest, which included the ancient stonework.
Sarah Klopper, who works as a stonemason at Salisbury Cathedral, will repair and relocate the memorial stones and carved stone signage. Commenting on her involvement in the project she said: “I’m looking forward to working on this project. There are so many buildings like this in the UK that are just crying out to be lovingly restored and what better way to do that than to support the homeless community.”
Geoffrey Morgan, a local organist and Organs Adviser to the United Reformed Church offered his services to salvage some pipework from the 19thcentury organ. On learning of the purchase of the former church, Geoffrey contacted Routes to Roots to express his interest in preserving part of the instrument, which has been unusable for many years following a fire. It may be possible, however, to reuse some of the pipes in other organs.
The organ is of historic importance to the local area as it dates from 1839 and was previously installed in the former St. Paul’s Church in Poole, so it is definitely something worth saving. With Geoffrey’s help it has been carefully dismantled and the keys, stop-knobs and interesting large brass plaque have been cleaned. Much of the organ itself, including the pipework, had been damaged beyond repair, but the handsome, original organ case and console have now been preserved and mounted in the organ loft, so that they can still be appreciated by all who visit the new centre.
Commenting on the importance of preserving the Hill Street building’s legacy, project manager of the renovations, R2R Trustee Kate Mellor said: “The building was erected in 1815 as a Baptist Church and assuch it is an important part of Poole’s history. Our architect, Ken Morgan, has worked closely with the BCP Council conservation officer, Margo Teasdale, to find ways to bring the building into 21st century usefulness, whilst retaining as many of the historic elements as possible. We would like to say a very big thank you to Sarah and Geoffrey for their time and expertise and who, alongside our team of professionals, are helping us to preserve this wonderful building for future generations to enjoy.”
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