the buildings
St Silas (the building) was constructed in 1864. Four years later the organ was moved and in 1895 (31 years later) the hall was added. So from the beginning the congregation of St Silas have made a point of adapting the building to the needs of their day and we have continued to do that through the years.
Our most recent major project was to replace the hall built in 1895 with something more suitable for our current needs. This project was called 'Building for the Future' and the hall came into use in February 2011.
Timeline of major changes to the building:
2009-2011 - 'Building for the Future' project to construct a new hall, kitchen, classrooms and offices in the space behind the church.
2006 - Sanctuary area re-carpeted
2005 May - Two "multipurpose rooms" were built in the back corners of the church. Prior to this the corner to the right (as you come in to the church) was a comfy seating library area. While on the other side there was a small partition making a creche and baby changing area.
2005 April - in preparation for the new rooms being built in the back corners of the church the Dais was moved back to its original position.
2002 July - Yellow Room painted for use by Powerhouse 2 children's work. 2001 May: New PA system installed
2001 February -The Dais was moved forward one pillar space to create a useful space behind. This was used for small service, as a prayer ministry area and various other things.
2001 February - The glassed screen at the back (entrance) of the church was boarded over and made into a notice board.
2000 Around Easter - The Youth Fellowship at the time was given what had previously been the kitchen to use on Sunday evenings along with Powerhouse 4 in the mornings. Furniture was scavenged and bought, paint colours were chosen and some DIY done.
1999 - Kitchen built in the sanctuary area
1999 - Major reordering plans drawn up proposing a four phase plan:
- building a new kitchen
- adding small rooms at the rear / near entrance
- sanctuary upgrading - carpeting, lighting, prayer areas, etc
- building a new hall
1992 - all pews were removed and replaced with chairs, the wooden floor and tiled isles were covered with carpet tiles. However, shortly after this the first Ceilidh was held in the main sanctuary to take advantage of the vast space created by the lack of pews. However, apparently this quickly became hazardous as carpet tiles came flying up during the faster dances. Soon after this, areas of tiles were glued down to prevent this from happening again.
1988 - Exterior stone work was cleaned
1977 - Reordering Plans: I found these display boards during a tidy up in the church and was fascinated to see the plans which include building a new balcony, kitchen, children's areas and turning the church around by 90degrees. I don't know how far this went, but obviously these are full architectural plans but something stopped this from going ahead.
I haven't currently found any other information relating to building work for the time between 1895 - 1977. If anyone knows more let me know.
1895 - Church Hall was erected at a cost of £570.
1868 - The Organ, which at first stood close to the chancel (current location of the kitchen), was moved to the gallery.
1864 - St Silas Church was opened for Divine Worship on the morning of 20th November, 1864 by the Rev. Canon Savage, Vicar of Nuneaton and an Honorary Canon of Worcester. The first incumbent was the Rev. Walter T Turpin of Dublin