On the 5th December 1905 King Edward VII ordered that the Parish of St Mary the Virgin, East Grinstead be created, forming a new parish of the Anglo-Catholic tradition, on the north side of the town. 
As we enter into this 120th year of the parish, we are setting about a transformative project that we hope and pray will enable mission, ministry and community work to continue to flourish in this place, for a further 120 years. 

Early in 2024 the PCC instructed a Fabric Working Group to investigate some of the ways in which our church building would be better able to achieve our mission to share the good news of Jesus, and establish St Mary's Church as the centre of our community. 
Several areas of development were identified:
  • Heating- St Mary's current gas fired boiler has reached the end of its service. It is no longer an efficient means of heating a church such as St Mary's, Is expensive to run, and does not align with our aims as an Eco-Church. 
  • Lighting- St Mary's lighting system is outdated and mismatched, with much of the church being poorly lit. 
  • Wiring- The electrical system in church does not meet our requirements. This must be updated to meet current safety regulations and electrical working loads. 
  • Sound- Our sound system is antiquated and damaged. A new system is needed in order that people can hear the teaching that is being offered. 
  • Hospitality- We want St Mary's Church to become a real place of hospitality and service, not only to our worshipping community, but to our wider community too. A kitchen in church, with movable cafe style seating will enable us to welcome people of all backgrounds into church to build relationships with each other, and offer them an opportunity to have an encounter with God and His Church. In recent years, several social events have taken place in  our beautiful church, which have lead to wider and deeper community involvement. 
  • Toilets- St Mary's is fortunate to have toilets in the church hall, but additional toilets in the church porch, with the addition of a secondary accessible toilet would greatly expand our capacity to host events. 
  • Accessibility- In order to make St Mary's truly accessible to all, the installation of a permanent ramp at the west door is necessary. ​

the Plan... Light, Warm, Transform

Having identified these areas of need in our church, the Fabric Working Group set about putting a plan together, in consultation with our architect and other experts and presented their ideas to the PCC. Our aim is to create a flexible church that is warm, well lit and offers great hospitality. We believe that plans outlined below can achieve this vision. 
Infrared heating chandeliers will be suspended between the arches, down the length of the nave. These attractive additions will offer light from LED bulbs that point down and up, as well as infrared panels within the chandelier. This will radiate heat across the nave, and into the side aisle. 
Each chandelier will be operated in pairs, offering the maximum flexibility, with heating and lighting functions being operated independently.

Additional lighting will be installed in the side aisle and chancel, to accentuate our beautiful church. 
​Additional heating will be installed in the choir, and on the walls at the west end of church. 
The brass design of the chandeliers will compliment the church. Heating panels are contained within the chandelier. 
Image shows 'warm zones' achieve by the infrared chandeliers. 
A reordering of the pews at the rear of church will create an open space that will be used as a place of hospitality for the worshipping and wider community. The installation of a kitchen and servery will enable us to offer light lunches and other refreshments to visitors. 
The shortening of the dais will create room for pews from the rear of church to be brought forward. The communion rails will be retained in the new design. 
All pews in church will be able to be moved in order to accommodate staging for concerts or plays or provide space for dining or other events. 
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The installation of toilets in the porch of church will enable St Mary's to host larger events and offer a space independently of the hall. One of these toilets will be accessible to the disabled, and will also have baby changing facilities, further enabling people of all abilities and ages to feel welcome and supported in our church. 
In a similar way, the creation of a permanent ramp at the west door will show that St Mary's is open to all. 

In these exciting additions to our beautiful church, the Fabric Working Group and the PCC believe that St Mary's will flourish in her missional aims, to help people know, love and follow Jesus. We believe that these changes will establish St Mary's as a community hub in our town. Our church will be able to host groups in our warm, well lit building, offer refreshments and hospitality to our community, provide warmth and comfort to those in need and be a place of celebration in people's lives. We would be able to host concerts and plays, dinners and dances.
All of this is truly exemplary of the incarnational love of God, who is worshiped in this dedicated place, who made himself man to be among us, and give us life in all its fullness. 
Architect's concept plan