St Mary’s Melton Mowbray

The Grade I listed St Mary's church is one of the most notable historic buildings in Leicestershire and is located on a site considered to be of significant archaeological importance, housing remains from the prehistoric to the post-medieval periods.

A popular parish church, St Mary’s plays a central role in community, hosting events such as the British Pie Awards, and the annual Christmas Tree Festival, which attracts more than 16,000 visitors each year.

Buttress was appointed to help the church deliver a major £2 million redevelopment project that would see the church’s facilities improved with new spaces that would make the church more accessible to others, and allow it to cater for an increasing number of visitors.

A new refreshment facility was also created, intended to support the church's expansion.

The refreshment facility has been designed so that it can be entirely concealed when not in use. The servery exists within its own self-contained cupboard, located beneath the north transept window, that can be completely closed off when not in use. As a concealed island unit, it can be wheeled out into the necessary position when required. This concealable, movable unit is intended to have as little physical and aesthetic impact on the interior of the church as possible, while providing a new and desired facility for visitors, worshippers, staff and volunteers.

The unit design is executed in oak with cornice work taken directly from the oak screen to the adjacent clergy and warden’s vestry. For the servery, the outer doors have been suspended on a concealed head track allowing them to be stacked out of the way at the side, with the store doors supported on floor pivot hinges. The overall height has been determined by the stone string course under the north transept window. These considerations have been intended to create a sympathetic language of materials, meaning that the refreshment facility should not aesthetically clash with its surroundings.

The changes have helped make the church a more functional and comfortable building for its users, while providing flexible facilities that will help preserve the historic church for future generations.