AN HISTORIC church is looking to enhance its facilities by installing a second building on its site.
St James in Ruscombe has submitted planning documents for the small community hall in its grounds.
The £400,000 project is expected to finally add toilets to the church, parts of which date back to the 12th century.
The church said in documents added to its website that it had surveyed the congregation, with the majority feeling that toilets were an essential addition to the church.
It would also enable it to extend its welcome to visitors, particularly for those who had travelled a long way for funerals, running coffee mornings and for small group activities, recitals and education days.
The scheme would also enable the church to build friendships and prevent loneliness among its ageing congregation.
Facilities would include a kitchen and an accessible toilet. The plans have been designed and located in consultation with Historic England and the Diocese of Oxford, to which the Anglican church belongs.
The proposed site is to the north of the church, next to a 19th century organ loft. It is in the only place in St James’ graveyard where graves are untended and, being more than 100 years old, mostly illegible, and with no relatives traceable through the statutory channels. The church said that buried remains would not be disturbed, and tombstones resited.
The church itself is a Grade I listed building, the chancel contains 12th century paintings, its nave and tower were built in the early 17th century and the pews and organ are from the 19th century. The Civil war and the Great Plague account for some graves in the churchyard,
St James church-warden Bill Barnes said: “This ancient Grade I listed church gets visitors from far and wide for ceremonies such as baptisms, weddings and funerals.
“Often the first question they ask on arrival is where’s the toilet? It is embarrassing and ridiculous that I have to tell them we don’t have any toilet facilities on the site.
“In this day and age that has to be a basic hygiene requirement when you have 50 or 60 people gathered together in a public building.
“That’s why we have made this planning application for toilets, together with related modern hygienic facilities.”
For more details, search planning.wokingham.gov.uk for planning application 181321.
