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THE ABBEY CENTRE AND CHAPEL - A BRIEF HISTORY The following is an attempt to give a brief history of the development of The Abbey Centre premises. In 1893, Abbey Road Baptist Church was established in Abbey Road, Far Cotton. It served the people of Far Cotton and Delapre for almost 100 years in that location. In 1983, we unsuccessfully launched an appeal and raised just a few thousand pounds; so in 1984, we re-launched our appeal as The Abbey Centre Appeal with The Rt. Hon. Earl Spencer as president, and Stan James (Mayor) and Michael Morris (MP) as vice-presidents. In 1984, we appointed Barker, Hammond and Cox as our Architects, and Barry Hobbs as our Quantity Surveyor and Professional adviser. Subsequently, Redman Construction were appointed as builders for the original Abbey Centre building and site works. 1985-6 was spent in major fund-raising efforts/appeals/circulars, etc., alongside designing and re-designing The Abbey Centre. In 1986, the first sod was cut on The Abbey Centre site by Cllr. Stan James. The building was completed so that Abbey Centre Baptist Church held its first services in the new premises for Christmas 1986. Within three months of opening, the building was fully used, seven days per week, day time and evenings, for a wide range of community purposes. The 'official' opening, by H.R.H. Diana, The Princess of Wales, took place in January 1987. The building, with associated hard-court area, cost approximately £450,000 and was opened free of debt! In 1987/1988, additional car-parking was completed for approximately £25,000. In 1988, to ease pressure for Abbey Centre use, The Abbey Centre Chapel Appeal was launched. In September 1989, The Abbey Centre Chapel was opened (costing £130,000, a small debt was cleared in due course). It was designed and built by Shire Design and Construction. In 1991, The Abbey Centre youth Wing Appeal was launched to accommodate an expanding youth-work programme. In 1982, Redman Construction were appointed as designers and builders and the work began. In January 1993, The Abbey Centre Youth Wing was opened. In May 1994, the development fund was formally closed, with all building costs paid in full, and a small residue remained to be used for any necessary works in connection with the youth wing (for example, the spraying of the ceiling with an anti-echo/heat-preservation coating). In 1997, the Abbey Centre Users' Association launched an appeal to raise approximately £70,000 to provide some smaller rooms for youth work adjacent to the youth wing, a drama/scenery workshop adjacent to the stage and, at stage level, a soft tarmac area for the pre-school group, and a paved, seated, Bar-B-Q area for various user groups (e.g. Parkinson's Support, Day Centre, Guides, etc) to the rear of the main hall. This work was completed in 1998. In 2000, liaising with Spurgeons' Child Care, we appointed a youth worker for a one-year term to explore the feasibility of working with some of the disaffected young people who live in South Northampton. This work made it clear that we needed a coffee bar area, and an ICT suite with a youth worker's office. In 2002, we launched our Youth@Risk Appeal to raise in cash or kind, an estimated £160,000. By spring 2004, we had raised the necessary capital to complete the building work and in collaboration with others appointed a specialist youth worker for three years. Each stage in the development of The Abbey Centre has been a response to recognise needs in South Northampton. The Abbey Centre operates under the aegis of Abbey Centre Baptist Church and and The Abbey Centre Users' Association to serve social and spiritual needs in South Northampton.
Contact The Church Administrators on 01604 767568 |
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