Garden Room

To the rear of the church and attached to the Presbytery, stands the Garden Room.

Over the years it became increasingly apparent that the existing church meeting room (The Garden Room) was no longer sufficient to meet the needs of a growing parish, so, in 2010, the first discussions started to take place considering whether to modernise or more radically extend the existing room. It was agreed that the current room should be extended rather than modernised. Ideas were sought from the Parish as to what the new room should look like and various plans were drawn up. Fund raising began in earnest for a project that was expected to cost at least £100,000. Events including raffles, cake sales, sponsored cycle rides, parachute jump, concerts and Fr. David’s famous one-man show were held to raise funds for the new venture.

By 2014, the Parish, through its fund-raising efforts, donations from parishioners, existing resources and a grant from the Garfield Weston Foundation, had sufficient funds to seek formal approval from the Diocese to go ahead with the project. The Diocese backed the new room and a local building company, Guerin Construction, was employed to draw up plans and seek formal planning permission. Work on the new Garden Room commenced in February 2015 and continued throughout the Spring and early Summer when it was completed and first put into use. Bishop Alan Hopes formally blessed and opened the Garden Room on the 13th September 2015 and planted a rose in the garden to commemorate the official opening.

The Garden Room is a real asset to the parish and is now in constant use for activities such as the children’s liturgy, prayer groups, coffee mornings, UCM meetings, annual harvest supper, fun evenings, parish BBQ, the art group and many other events and activities throughout the year.

For further information on using the Garden Room please contact Fr David Ward at davidward@stwalstans.com