London & South East

New parsonage at St Matthews

St Mathews Church in Surbiton, Surrey is to receive an energy efficient, brand new parsonage built to Passive House standards.

The modern, environmentally friendly building will be the home of the parish’s vicar Helen Hancock, who has only recently taken over the vicarage of St Matthews Church. Helen is currently living in New Morgan because the site is not yet complete.

Nestled in Surbiton, a suburban area of south west London within the borough of Kingston upon Thames, St Matthew’s Church is an idyllic local parish. Surbiton is an area steeped in history and was home to famous icons such as famous authors H G Wells, Thomas Hardy; broadcaster C H Middleton and Pre-Raphaelite painter John Everett Millais.

The previous vicarage was 200 years old and was cold, draughty and in desperate need of renovation. The former building has now been demolished and Claremont, the main contractors are currently on site in the process of conducting the internal plastering works.

With the external construction complete the project is taking shape with just the internal fit out to be undertaken before the vicar moves in at the end of November.

The new house comprises of a brick and block construction, red and yellow bricks, a tiled roof, timber windows and four bedrooms. Moving forward the on site team need to finish the internal plastering and then fit the bathroom, kitchen, doors and skirting to complete the project.

In order to remain energy efficient the house has been fitted with photovoltaic thermal hybrid solar heating panels, which are not only environmentally friendly but will make the house self-sustainable.

Fred Simons from Claremont Refurbishment, a traditional building contractor, is acting as the Construction Site Manager. Speaking to Premier Construction about the impact the new parsonage will have on the parish, Fred said:

“The new build will definitely make the area look nicer; the building also holds an office and therefore will allow the vicar to carry out work within her own home. The location of the parsonage, which is right next to the church, also means Helen will be more accessible to the parishioners.

“We are happy to be involved with the church as they are long term clients of ours who we enjoy working with.”

Claremont Refurbishment were the main contractors on the project, and therefore oversaw the sub contractors involved in the project including ground workers, bricklayers, electricians, decorators.

London based Molyneux Architects are involved in the project and have been instrumental in the design of the parsonage. The company, which was established in 1989, has a broad range of experience across the built environment as both designers and facilities managers in the UK and in over 45 countries worldwide.

Having been involved in over 400 projects since their creation Molyneux are more than experienced enough to undertake the design of the Surrey based parsonage. The company works on projects in multiple industries including the ecclesiastical and community sector, residential, medical and welfare, commercial and diplomatic estate arenas.

Many organisations are involved in the project enabling it to run smoothly. These include A K D Contracts Ltd, Blue Sword, Carshalton Structures Ltd, Charcon Flooring Solutions, Colets Piling, Ditton Electrical Contracts Ltd, Holt Security Systems, T J Lowery, No Limit Plumbing Ltd, Overall Construction, Pica Flooring, R M Brickwork, Swift Roofing, Plastering Contractors (Stanmore) Ltd and E J Taylor and Sons Ltd.

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