St George’s Colegate is a fine, thriving city centre church. It has a remarkable history and an exciting future as an essential part of ‘Norwich Over the Water’.

In previous years, the church was the spiritual home of many influential mayors and merchants of Norwich. The painter John Crome was once the churchwarden here and the church has many artistic and cultural links with the ongoing life of the city today.

In order to make St George’s more accessible and useable, we plan a refurbishment of the kitchen, WC and meeting room at the west end of the building.

This leaflet explains our plans and the anticipated costs of this much-needed project.

Area of proposed alterations

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Imag

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Spring 2010

Elevation of area of proposed alterations Perspective plan of church

In the 1960s, St George's Colegate pioneered a welcome ministry to local office workers by being one of the first parish churches to build a kitchen and coffee bar at the west end of the building.

The church is now the parish church for the whole of Norwich Over the Water, the area of the city centre north of the river.

Since 2005, the church has managed to raise significant sums of money to supplement grant aid by English Heritage for major repairs to the tower and roof. The small but growing congregation has achieved this through its hard work and commitment, with the support of the community around.

Now that the church is open on a daily basis, we plan to make the building more welcoming and accessible by upgrading the 1960s toilet and coffee bar to a standard in keeping with current expectations and user expectations.

The community’s need is for a self-contained, well-lit and warm meeting area away from the main body of the church. This room will have many functions: as a crèche, green room for use during concerts and a place for weekday services and meetings.

There is a need for a wheelchair-accessible toilet to replace the existing small cubicle. The existing cramped coffee bar will be replaced by a modern kitchenette unit mounted on the north wall, providing simple but flexible space for basic catering needs.

The proposed alterations are wholly within the existing partitioned coffee bar and storage area towards the north-western corner of the church. They will enhance the use of the building and will have minimal impact on the structure and appearance of this Grade I listed building.

The present outdated facilities

ABOVE: Plan of our proposals

RIGHT: The present layout dating from the 1960s

www.achurchnearyou.com/norwich-st-george-colegate

The total cost of this project is in the region of £30,000.

The breakdown is as follows:

Protection and removal £500

Floor £2,500

Accessible toilet and store £6,000

Kitchen unit £6,000

Door/lobby area £1,000

Heating £2,500

Redecoration £2,500

Professional fees £5,000

Supervision and contingency £4,000

By helping this project you will be enabling this church to fulfil its role in the community. You will be assisting the congregation to maintain a strong and growing interest in the church, which is already used for concerts, exhibitions and as a place for public worship, private prayer and reflection.

St George’s Colegate has much to offer this part of Norwich as a spiritual, cultural and social resource to the many people who work and live in the parish for many generations to come.

Thank you for reading this appeal. Donations to support the project can be sent to the address below.

Phillip McFadyen Priest-in-Charge01603 621570 PhillipMcFadyen@aol.com

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Church Treasurer, PCC St George’s Colegate, c/o 10 Welsford Road, Norwich, NR4 6QF