Managing, improving or building new church halls
Managing events
Do refer to the occasional events checklist (produced by the Churches Legislation Advisory Service) for advice on licences, health and safety and other practical considerations
Legal advice on wedding receptions held on church premises
Policies, procedures and ways to make the most of your church hall:
Further resources:
New build or redevelopment
A quality, well-resourced and maintained church hall can be a tremendous asset to a church, enabling a wide range of activities to take place for the church and local communities. It can also help generate regular income through room hire and/or long term lease. High quality buildings give a strong message to people that they matter and the work of the church is of high standard, reflecting The One to whom we serve.
We hope this information on recent capital work in the Diocese of Chester will be:
- A celebration of improving church halls that enable churches to flourish more and be at the heart of local communities
- A source of help and inspiration to churches considering such a project by signposting to those who have undertaken such a project
Further advice
Gaining further advice if your church is considering improving or building a new church hall:
- Step 1: Decide on the scale and preferred location of the facilities and capture this in a Statement of Need. You may find the examples below helpful. You may also want to compare notes with these churches as to how they developed and managed their project.
- Step 2: Discuss the practicalities (e.g. heritage issues, storage, access, water supply, drainage etc etc) with your architect
- Step 3: Once you have some outline proposals, you should seek early, informal advice from the DAC
Funding sources
- The Diocese of Chester Fundraising Guide includes a section on ‘Finding Grants’ as well as other guidance on fundraising campaigns
Recent church hall improvements
Listed in alphabetical order by location
Bowdon, St Mary the Virgin (large, very modern hall, stand-alone)
Stamford Road (off B5162), Bowdon WA14 2TR
Contact: John Lambie, Parish Centre Project Manager and Sue Sinagola, Fundraising Coordinator
Dukinfield, St John the Evangelist (large, very modern hall, linked to church)
Church Centre, Vicarage Drive/Oxford Road (B6175), Dukinfield SK16 5HZ
Elworth, St Peter (large, modern hall)
London Road, Elworth CW11 3HU
Hartford, St John the Baptist (large, modern hall, stand-alone)
Chester Road, Hartford, Northwich CW8 1NP
Heswall, St Peter (large, very modern hall, stand-alone)
Village Road, Lower Heswall CH60 0DZ
Higher Bebington, Christ Church (large, very modern hall, linked to church)
Kings Road (near Linkside), Higher Bebington CH63 8LX
Minshull Vernon, St Peter (Leighton) (modern, stand-alone hall)
Middlewich Road, Minshull Vernon, Crewe CW1 4RD
Contact: Revd Philip Goggin
Poynton St George (stand-alone hall adjacent to church)
London Road South, Poynton SK12 1NH
Prestbury, St Peter (major contemporary extension linked to church for a Church Centre, opened winter 2015)
The Village, Prestbury SK10 4DG
Upton-by-Chester, Holy Ascension (meeting room, toilet, kitchen, stone-faced to blend with building)
Church Lane, Upton, Chester CH2 1DJ
Weaverham, St Mary the Virgin The Lighthouse (stand-alone modern hall, toliet, kitchen)
Church Street, Weaverham, Northwich CW8 3NJ
West Kirby, St Bridget (large hall, linked to church- stone-faced to blend with building)
St Bridget's Lane, West Kirby CH48 3JT
Contact: Martin Harrison, St Bridget's Centre Manager
Image credits
In order as they appear
- West Kirby, St Bridget (interior)
- Prestbury, St Peter
- Bowdon, St Mary the Virgin
- Hartford, St John the Baptist
- Leighton-cum-Minshull Vernon, St Peter
- Weaverham, St Mary the Virgin