Lighting specialists promote their skills

Church lighting specialists Anthony J Smith (Glos) Ltd will be exhibiting at CRE Sandown. The company have been re-lighting churches of all sizes and denominations for well over 30 years including a recent project at St Matthew's in Winchester.

St Matthews church was originally built towards the end of the 12th century as a chapel for the farming district of Wyke, or Weeke as it is known today, near Winchester.

For over a century this little church was subordinate to larger churches which served Winchesters sprawling population until times changed dramatically after the Black Death in 1348.

As many as half of the city’s citizens died in the plague and with the decline in the population the suburbs and their churches fell into ruin and by the 15th century new plans had to be made for the remaining families.

The chapel was restored, enlarged and designated as the parish church. Despite having a capacity of only 60, for nearly 500 years the parish church of St Matthews was perfectly adequate for its small rural community. Until 1872 it remained the sole parish church and with the growing number of parishioners the foundations for a sister church, St Paul’s, were laid in nearby Fulflood.

Following a periodic inspection on the electrical system within the church it was decided that the existing wiring and lighting installation were falling behind modern standards and becoming increasingly inefficient and difficult to maintain. The PCC consulted church lighting and design specialists Anthony J Smith (Gloucester) Ltd and after several visits a suitable solution was found.

During an on-site demonstration, the PCC were presented with a system using latest generation LED light fittings combined with a flexible switching and dimming arrangement to meet the needs of parishioners and efficient enough to allow all-day illumination for visitors.

Following a successful faculty application, Anthony J Smith (Gloucester) Ltd.’s experienced engineers arrived at St Matthews early in 2015 to carry out a sympathetic installation and to ensure minimal disruption to the church with services being allowed to carry on as normal.

With such a small church, the challenge of disguising and concealing the new wiring system within the fabric of the building was always going to be difficult but the team have carried this out in a manner that is virtually undetectable and allows the fine architecture to stand out.

The new lighting installation provides separate up and down-lighting which combined with independent illumination of the liturgical focal points in the church allows for the provision of different lighting arrangements to create the required ambience for many types of event or service.

The new lighting was blessed during a service in September for which Reverend Peter Seal wrote a special prayer in which he said, “The new lighting enhances the beauty of our beloved church, not least on weekdays when visitors can feel welcomed by the light that greets them. We give thanks to those that inspired and managed the project, to all that raised money and made generous gifts and to the contractors Anthony J Smith (Gloucester) Ltd who were a delight to work with.”

Another project recently undertaken by the company was St Mary's Church in Brixton, Devon.

St Mary's Church sits prominently within this small parish that dates back to mediaeval times.

The church is Grade 1 Listed although this has not stopped the congregation developing the building into a space that is flexible enough to meet the varying needs not only of the congregation but of the wider community.

Recent projects have included the formation of a flexible community space at the west end of the nave together with the installation of an accessible toilet and kitchenette.

Jim Eccles, who acted as project co-ordinator, states:

"The lighting was the latest phase of works to provide a building for the 21st century, the old lighting system was past its sell by date and certainly in need of replacement.

We didn't have an infinitely available source of funding and Anthony J Smith (Gloucester) Ltd provided a solution that ticked all of our wish list boxes."

Latest generation Led units now make the church appear much more vibrant and the greater level of switching and dimming flexibility allows the right amount of light to be provided for what ever the occasion may be.

"I would have no problem in recommending Anthony J Smith (Gloucester) Ltd - their sympathetic understanding of our needs was apparent from the initial contact through to completion"

For more from this company visit their website www.anthonyjsmith.co.uk.