Removal of pews start of major changes for London's oldest cathedral

A new year is bringing a new look for London's historic St. Paul's Cathedral.

Construction crews are set to remove more than 250 wooden pews from it this week, kicking off an ambitious multi-year plan to reinvent the cathedral as part church, part creative arts incubator.

It comes as the Anglican Diocese of Huron faces declining religious attendance and officials with the cathedral examine the building's future role in the community.

The objective is to enhance the cathedral for use as a holy place, while opening it up to new possibilities and providing financial security for the future, said Dean Kevin George.

"We believe God is at work in the creatives in this city, so, to be able to bring creatives into the space who want to perform and express themselves with their music, for instance," he said.

"We want to be able to, yes, increase some revenue, but more than that, we want to be good stewards of the space."

Of the roughly 27,000 square-foot the cathedral occupies at Queens Avenue and Richmond Street, only a portion is being used on a given day.

"That's not good stewardship of space," George said. 

"We believe God's calling us to go into the neighbourhood, find neighbours who need to use this space and provide it at reasonable cost so that there are different ways to express people's spirituality."

Removal of the pews will officially begin on Monday by crews from EllisDon, but a handful were removed ahead of time for sale to the community.

As of Friday, nearly two dozen had already been sold at $100 per piece. Each will be cut to a specified length by Gordon Rolleston, St. Paul's warden, a process he said will take him up to four months.

"It's all white oak, solid oak. To just say those are going to a dumpster or into the trash bin is one of the things that gets people upset," Rolleston said. 

"On Monday, whatever is left over is going to be taken by EllisDon."

Built between 1844 and 1846, and expanded in the late 1800s, the yellow-bricked, red-painted St. Paul's is London's oldest church, and predates the municipality by nearly a decade.

For more than a year, the diocese has worked with non-profit Trinity Centres Foundation (TCF) to rethink how the three floors of the cathedral could be used into the future.

A business case by TCF, tabled before council in May, proposed using about 9,000 square feet as a creative sector incubator with workshop spaces, studios, music practice and recording areas.

It also proposed turning an empty diocese-owned building next door into affordable housing, a project now underway.

A main component will see the historic cathedral area turned into a 700-seat multi-use space for church services, as well as conferences and performances. 

It's this work that's beginning first. Into the spring, crews will reinforce the floor to handle the weight of movable seating, install air conditioning and improve ventilation.

"It's all just loose air that comes through the cracks and the doors," said Rolleston. "The difficult problem is maintaining character without going too far. I don't want to see sheet metal duct work all over the place."

London Morning8:14Reimagining London's oldest church

A major plan is in the works to reimagine the future of St. Paul's Cathedral. St. Paul's Dean Kevin George and Project Lead Kendra Fry told London Morning about the plans to convert the cathedral into a creative incubator complete with studios.

A new accessible ramp will be added and existing tile flooring removed. New hardwood floors will be installed, covering existing hardwood underneath the pews, which is believed to be original. A labyrinth may also be added.

The pews themselves will be replaced with durable oak plywood chairs that can be stacked and wheeled in and out of storage.

George acknowledged the cathedral was sensitive to the fact the changes may not come easy to all parishioners.

"I'm so proud of the people here for embracing the notion of change and realizing that they need to think about where future generations are and how they're going to need to worship," he said.

The main cathedral work is expected to cost more than $1 million, with about half covered by the diocese, George said. The rest will be fundraised. It's unclear what the larger, complex-wide plans will cost.

The work is set to last until May and service will be held in adjoining Cronyn Hall until then. It's there parishioners gathered during major roof repairs in 2016 and 2017.

The clock is ticking. The cathedral is hosting the Anglican Church of Canada's triennial Synod meeting in June, during which a new Primate, or head of the church, will be elected.