One further complication that can arise in England (and presumably Wales) in re-purposing a church/chapel is the placing of a restrictive covenant in the title deeds.
As a slight tangent, it's interesting that building covenants are frequently associated with denominations that don't have a sacramental view of things, but the net effect of them is to set the building apart in some way.
One further complication that can arise in England (and presumably Wales) in re-purposing a church/chapel is the placing of a restrictive covenant in the title deeds. This can restrict the future use to which the building can be legally put. It can be set aside by the previous owner who placed it there, or by their descendant(s).
Intriguingly, I recall hearing the reverse with regard to one of the non-Kirk churches here; that the building was constructed with a view to being suitable for conversion to a home if later need required it. Of course most architecture in these parts is a stone box with a roof, the remaining early 20th century Kirk (cruciform, allegedly modelled on Iona Abbey) being the exception.
I am waiting with interest to see what becomes of a former Methodist Chapel where I have attended some services, which has recently sold. It is Grade 11 listed, in an attractive setting, set back from the road, together with small other buildings previously used for small groups. Housing, I expect.
The only time I have ever been in Swindon, I visited the original railway museum that was housed in a former church - a Methodist chapel, if I remember correctly. It was just right for the small, but good quality collection at that time (early 1980s). Does anyone know what has happened to it since the museum moved out?
The former Mr Wanderer grew up in Bangor, Gwynedd. His family are Catholic and in his youth attended church in a hall -like building on the High Street. Then in the early 1990s (at least according to the version he told me) the priest "got it into his head" that he wanted to buy the redundant Church in Wales church building on a hill outside the city and move there. This duly happened despite the congregation's misgivings about the expense. Their former site on the High Street became a Wetherspoons. I only have my ex's version of events (as an Anglican who only knew of PCC type governance I was flabbergasted at the idea that a priest could make such a major decision without the agreement of the congregation) but I can quite see that for his family at least it was a bad decision: his mother is a wheelchair user so I am quite sure that "hall-like building on the High Street" would have been far more accessible for her than "Victorian Gothic pile on a hill at the edge of town". Whenever we visited the town the sight of the then-Wetherspoons would cause him to mutter: " it was a perfectly good church, why did he move it?"
The Victorian Gothic pile in its C in W incarnation had been dedicated to St James, in its RC incarnation it became" the church of Our Lady and St James " - which I feel shows some inter-denominational tact and sensitivity.
In (I think) 1972 I once attended Rendezvous Street Baptist Church in Folkestone. That has been a 'Spoons for many years, the Baptists having moved to a smaller building, possibly a merger with another congregation but I don't know. The chapel pub is rather splendid, and Wetherspoons are well aware of its history. Samuel Peto, tthe railway entrepreneur after whom it is named, financed quite a number of Baptist churches including Bloomsbury Central in London. https://tinyurl.com/2pmwr7pe
A small town not far from here acquired a Roman Catholic church in the 1940s, when a former cinema - a modest building - was bought and converted...
The church closed back in 2007, and I understand that the site has since been redeveloped, probably for housing, as this is a popular *commuter* area.
@Puzzler - as the chapel you mention has ancillary buildings, it might lend itself to becoming some sort of arts centre, with the smaller structures being let as studios or workshops.
Quite a number of cinemas have become "new churches", usually Pentecostal (and possibly African).
Many years ago, though, I attended a little Mission Hall in the Midlands which had thriftily purchased redundant cinema seating. Sitting back down onto the tip-up seats after each hymn was a little awkward.
To protect the drummer from brickbats and rotten tomatoes .... Seriously, I think it's for acoustic reasons but I don't know what they might be!
To revert to the OP: https://tinyurl.com/3zykuyjc. We've heard both Cerys Hafana (and have a gig booked this autumn) and Lleuwen (who, last year, did a chapel tour of Welsh folk hymnal music, which we didn't know about) - both are amazing!
Sometimes, the only viable option for a redundant church or chapel is demolition.
Having said that, I heard of a parish in Bradford, which found that a major new road development severed the church building from its people! They managed to get permission to demolish the Victorian building, and construct a new church in the area where the people lived...
I thought it was a health and safety thing to prevent any drumsticks the drummer might lose hold of from flying out and hitting people in the congregation.
The screen helps to reduce the sound volume of the drums, making it easier to create a balanced mix for the audience. Reduction of crosstalk: By shielding the drums, their sound is prevented from being picked up by the microphones of other instruments.
The screen should help prevent the sound reaching the audience by two different paths - direct from the instrument, or via the electrickery that processes and distributes it. The time difference is small but seems to be enough to distort the sound.
Comments
As a slight tangent, it's interesting that building covenants are frequently associated with denominations that don't have a sacramental view of things, but the net effect of them is to set the building apart in some way.
Intriguingly, I recall hearing the reverse with regard to one of the non-Kirk churches here; that the building was constructed with a view to being suitable for conversion to a home if later need required it. Of course most architecture in these parts is a stone box with a roof, the remaining early 20th century Kirk (cruciform, allegedly modelled on Iona Abbey) being the exception.
It's now "The Platform" arts centre - looks as if the Council bought it, but I don't know: https://smscio.org/venues/the-platform
The Victorian Gothic pile in its C in W incarnation had been dedicated to St James, in its RC incarnation it became" the church of Our Lady and St James " - which I feel shows some inter-denominational tact and sensitivity.
The church closed back in 2007, and I understand that the site has since been redeveloped, probably for housing, as this is a popular *commuter* area.
@Puzzler - as the chapel you mention has ancillary buildings, it might lend itself to becoming some sort of arts centre, with the smaller structures being let as studios or workshops.
Many years ago, though, I attended a little Mission Hall in the Midlands which had thriftily purchased redundant cinema seating. Sitting back down onto the tip-up seats after each hymn was a little awkward.
To revert to the OP: https://tinyurl.com/3zykuyjc. We've heard both Cerys Hafana (and have a gig booked this autumn) and Lleuwen (who, last year, did a chapel tour of Welsh folk hymnal music, which we didn't know about) - both are amazing!
Having said that, I heard of a parish in Bradford, which found that a major new road development severed the church building from its people! They managed to get permission to demolish the Victorian building, and construct a new church in the area where the people lived...
I thought it was a health and safety thing to prevent any drumsticks the drummer might lose hold of from flying out and hitting people in the congregation.