Clarity of speech aids delivery of the word in Chester

Blacon is an area of post-war housing on the outskirts of Chester, with St Theresa’s a bold landmark suburban church. The building style is distinctive modern Gothic, but with a conventional plan-form: a long, high nave with a prominent west door and offset corner tower.

The spacious, well-lit interior is conventionally arranged and retains some attractive fittings, including a striking mosaic reredos, oak pews and a marble altar and pulpit. The parish was created after the Franciscans of Chester provided a site for a church and presbytery in 1956, together with £1,000. Work commenced in April 1958 and the foundation stone was laid on 11 October that year. The presbytery and exterior of the church were completed in July 1959 and the first Mass was said on 14 December.

In the fourth quarter of 2024 Richard King Systems came recommended to the church as accomplished specialists in sound reproduction at places of worship. An initial consultation meeting with the church representatives established the shortfalls and limitations of the existing system and was a starting point to formulate scheme suggestions to improve the delivery of the spoken word to the congregation.

The interior of the church presented a significant challenge to designing a system that would provide the best possible speech intelligibility for the congregation. The space is a highly reverberant environment requiring expert system design, selection of suitable loudspeaker models and placement, and other processes.

Following submission of the initial system design suggestions, a number of alternative loudspeakers, amplification and microphones were installed on a temporary basis for evaluation purposes. The reaction to the new, improved sound was universally positive from both the church officials and the congregation, leading to Richard King Systems providing a detailed scheme for the upgrade of the facilities.

While the original pulpit microphone and radio microphones have been retained, the new system is a complete upgrade replacement, including wireless altar and lectern microphones. 

The system uses bespoke digital signal processing and signal delays for the best possible speech intelligibility, with simple-to-operate controls for adjustments to be made discreetly and effectively. While the loudspeakers provide best-in-class reproduction, they also blend in well with the interior, minimising visual impact.

First-class installation and commissioning of the system by the engineers from Richard King Systems provides reliable first-class performance.

With their depth of experience in the design, installation, commissioning and maintenance of audio visual systems in challenging environments, the project at St Theresa’s Church is now part of Richard King Systems’ substantial portfolio.

For further information visit richardkingsystems.co.uk