Chairs will ‘destroy beautiful old church’ (From Evesham Journal)

Chairs will ‘destroy beautiful old church’

8:00am Saturday 29th September 2012 in News By Sarah Taylor

PLANS to replace pews with chairs at an Evesham Church will destroy the interior of an historic building, according to a parishioner.

The 12th century All Saints Church in Evesham town centre may be re-arranged, with chairs replacing the current aisles of pews.

But according to the parishioner, whose identity is known to the Journal, this will destroy the appeal and character one of the county’s most beautiful churches.

In a letter to the paper they said: “All Saints, our historic parish church, is part of Evesham’s heritage and attracts large numbers of visitors, therefore the townspeople should know of these major plans. Many of us feel these changes will completely destroy the interior of one of the most beautiful churches in Worcestershire.”

Church spokesperson and member of the parochial church council Bill Bird said the plans had been known for some time and they hoped the changes would attract more people into the church to use the space.

He said: “Our main focus is making the church more relevant and useful in the 21st century. There have been no decisions to date, no firm proposals and no firm plans.”

Since considering changes to the church interior, the parochial church council has carried out consultations and Mr Bird says that most of the congregation has backed the idea of a more flexible worship space.

He said: “We are acutely aware we worship in an historic building that Christians have used for centuries and we take our responsibilities for this building seriously.

“The building, however, is not a museum and must serve the needs of the current town of Evesham.”