Giving
The Queens Hall has been a landmark in Wigan since 1902. It has a wide and varied history which you can read about here. For several years, we have been tackling the problem of trees and vegetation growing in and around our cupola. However, we have lost the battle, and this has caused much damage to the stonework in that area. The Queens Hall is a grade 2 listed building, and as such, we need to repair the façade in a sympathetic manner. If this problem is not rectified, we will have to eventually vacate the building on health and safety grounds. Thus, there is a real need to take action and furthermore, there are other actions that would greatly benefit the Hall.
The refurbishment of the building has been given the title The Nehemiah Project. This name was chosen because in the Bible, Nehemiah repaired the walls of Jerusalem in 432BC. Otherwise, the city could have been overrun, and worship in the temple, the focus of Judaism, would have ceased. Prior to Nehemiah’s intervention Jerusalem was in a bad way.
Obviously, Queen’s Hall isn’t as significant as Jerusalem, nevertheless the building needs urgent attention. In order to repair the cupola, the Nehemiah project team successfully applied for a feasibility grant from the Methodist Church. This meant specialist engineers and a heritage architect could examine all aspects of refurbishing Queen’s Hall in order that tenders could be prepared, and an overall cost estimated. As a team we met together and developed a mission statement which has helped us to develop a clear vision for the future.
It is estimated that we need to raise upwards of 1 million pounds to facilitate this plan.
There is a huge opportunity to build upon our heritage. The Galleries is being completely redeveloped. Opposite Queen’s Hall there will be a cinema, music venue, bowling alley, food and drink venue, an entertainment space, a new market hall and 464 residential units. So, there will be a greater footfall and new residents a short walk from the Hall. We are also working with Wigan BuildingPreservation Trust, and they have some interesting details on their website here
Our founders had a vision of social action and evangelism. Our task is to put Queen’s Hall into tip-top condition so that we do the same in this new mission field. Then Queen’s Hall will be involved in building the Kingdom of God in the centre of Wigan will for decades to come.
Watch this space for our plans for this project!
