Historic organ's return heralded

18/01/10

The Bishop of London led a special service at St George’s Church, Southall to mark the restoration of the historic church organ and the creation of new community facilities in the building.

The historic organ was built in 1723 and after centuries of serving the church, was resorted to its original 1723 specification enabling it to continue being a focal point of services and concerts in the church. The £350,000, 14-month project was made possible thanks to a grant of £297,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).

The congregation and local community around St George’s Church, Lancaster Road, Southall, were also celebrating the creation of new community facilities in the building over the weekend. The new facilities include a new meeting room and the installation of a new heating system, new floor and toilets for people with disabilities.

The work is part of a much larger, phased project to completely renovate the building to create a building that will provide a community focus, reduce isolation and increase voluntary and community capacity. Once it is complete, the new schedule of activities will include language classes for adults, expanded parent and toddler groups, dancing groups, daily breakfast and after-school clubs, and holiday clubs for children. Funding for the new community room has come from several sources, including the Veolia Environmental Trust, John Lyons Charity and City Bridge Trust to name but a few, as well a sterling effort by the congregation who raised nearly £50,000.

Speaking about the project, the vicar of St George’s, the Reverend Christopher Ramsay said:

"Have you ever found treasure in your attic? Restoring our organ has been like that for us at St George’s. And what can be a more fitting home for it than our revamped church facilities for use by all the local community. It’s great news for Southall.

"St George's is a vibrant and friendly centre for the community for a wide range of activities. The new community room will allow us to extend educational programmes and community facilities for children and accommodate various community groups."

The Bishop of London said:

"St George's is a shining example of what has been achieved throughout the Diocese of London over the past ten years. The congregation genuinely represent the wonderful diversity of Southall. This is a church which is flourishing because it is determined to represent the wider community".