A Twickenham church which featured in Call The Midwife is attempting to raise £2.5million for refurbishments.
All Hallows Church, situated on Chertsey Road, has begun repairs after flooding – which happened over a number of years – became unbearable.
It has stood as a pillar of the community since 1940, having been moved brick by brick from central London at the start of World War Two.
It has previously been used as a sanctuary during the blitz and has even been given a 1960s transformation for the BBC hit show, Call the Midwife.
Vicar of All Hallows, Kevin Bell, 67, said: “It’s a community church, and we’re going to bang that label home.”
Enduring issues with poor drainage, potholes and significant flood damage has prompted an ambitious redesign of the church and its parish hall.
Father Bell, who is neurodivergent himself, expressed his desire to make the revamp as accessible as possible.
He said: “We get a lot of neurodiverse kids coming into the hall who have autism and ADHD, it’s fantastic.”
Despite facing financial hardships during covid, All Hallows has a creative and moving way of raising funds.
Filming for Call the Midwife raised £6000 for the church, but shooting had to cease due to the dire need for the building to be redone.
Father Bell said: “We had them for two years, I had Jenny Agutter sat in my chapel dressed like a nun.
“It was an amazing experience, and it was lovely, because it was a very positive message.”
But it was the generosity of parishioner Ena Parker, who when she died, donated a large sum of money from the sale of her house, which prevented the church from going bankrupt during the pandemic.
To fund the £2.5 million, Father Bell said he is planning to secure a generous grant for the church supplemented by a fundraising campaign that will focus on local events – such as a wine and cheese evenings – aimed at bringing the Twickenham community together.
Renovations began at the start of September this year with detailed plans to raise the rest of the money by December 2027.
All Hallows is gearing up to mark its 85th anniversary on 9 November with an extravagant hymn service, followed by a bonfire night.
Featured image credit: Ella Manning
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