Chapel revamp is set to delight
THE new Shawforth Methodist Chapel is set to be unveiled after undergoing a revamp costing around £60,000.
A new tiled roof, replacing the old corrugated steel one, and new beams to support the roof have been installed and other renovation work inside has now been completed.
A new heating system, a redecoration of the building’s interior and solar panels are now set to follow in the next few months.
Work has even carried on during torrential rain.
Norman Gilkinson, partner and managing director of specialist construction company NRG Scarmann Ltd, which has carried out the work, said: “We have been unbelievably lucky with the weather, bar one Friday afternoon when the heavens opened and we fought relentlessly to keep the flood out of what we have come to call the ‘ark’!
“Prior to that, it seemed it was raining everywhere else except on the chapel, as if it was protected from a higher power.”
Partner Michael Boardman said: ●● The new roof taking shape (above) and almost complete (below) “Bizarrely the contract was set to be complete in 40 days and 40 nights so when people asked me what I was up to, I told them I was working for God now.”
The NRG Scarmann team working in the village have also increased revenue for local shops, including Angie’s chippy across from the chapel where staff made a fruit trifle for the workforce as a thank you.
Steven Scarr, from NRG Scarmann, said: “We’ve had the full support of the community and have employed local people and businesses throughout the contract.”
The aim is to make the chapel the ‘hub’ of the village.
Rev Janice Trimble, ●● Norman Gilkinson, managing director of NRG Scarman Ltd, on the Shawforth Chapel roof and below, left, with colleagues Michael Boardman, Sean Mills and Steven Scar minister at the chapel, said she was ‘thrilled’ at the remodelled building.
She said: “The church and community will now be able to do more together after working so hard fundraising for a number of years.
“I’m so pleased the work has now been done and we’re hoping to have a party to celebrate at the end of the month.”