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Posted by Dave Norman on November 13, 2006, 2:50 am, in reply to "St Dunstan's Church reordering" Take the pews out? Why not disregard heritage and go the whole way and replace the windows with double glazing, you might just as well. The pews are part of the fabric of the church. More than anything St. Dunstans Church is for the present and future the children of Cranbrook. It far from being just a place of worship, for them sitting in the church must be visually facinating, historically informative, and as with all children when bored during a long service, a place where the the imagination can run wild, part of their social heritage. Yes. The church does need to meet health and safty requirements and accomadate all and move forward but not at the expense of heritage, a hallowed place could become a hollowed place. There are other option as pointed out, ie, the vestry Hall that could be upgraded.
195.93.21.6
Is the Church a listed building? If not, it certainly should be for its protection.
I had a real shock last year when visiting Cranbrook and discovered that the main door to the church had been painted white. This is down right vandalism and now a visual scare on the building, the damage is irreparable. Is this an example of things to come?
Architects are not always right in their formula for modernization they are subject to the influences of trends and fashions as much as anyone else.
Look a little back in time and you will see that Cranbrook used to have a place very close to the church and school that would have accommodated much of the uses intended for the future St. Dunstans Church. The Library was initially a youthclub built with money raised by the people of Cranbrook. It was converted, with little consultation, into the library by the local authority. Re-house the library and claim the building back, it would be ideal as a community centre.
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