AN historic parish church is moving monuments on one of the inside walls and is due to resite pew ends within the building to make way for modernisation to improve community accessibility and inclusivity.

Scaffolding has been erected on the inner north wall of Tavistock parish church and eighteen pews under the scaffolding at the west end have been covered to protect them from the work of raising monuments up the wall. The carved ends of about eight wooden pews will also be resited on public display inside with the monuments.

The work is the initial stage prior to some of the pews being taken out completely, to make way for a new block being created to create the first toilets, proper kitchen and first dedicated storage. The monuments are being raised to be above the new block’s roof.

There are no available toilets for public use, and church staff have to send people across the town square to the nearest. The toilets, including accessible use, will be for visitors and the 68 monthly services, weddings, baptisms, funerals, school events and community events such as Tavistock Music and Arts Festival, the Exon Singers Festival and the popular Christmas Tree Festival attracting 13,000 visitors.

Similarly, there is only a water boiler and sink to support any catering the church wants to lay on after services and concerts. Despite being a large building, there is no dedicated storage, and storage currently takes place in niches around the church, causing a lot of clutter and obscuring the beauty of the interior.

‘We have a beautiful church in the middle of Tavistock, which is very well used both for religious services and public events. The changes will increase the accessibility of the building to as wide a community as possible.

‘A lot of work has gone into planning what we need, and we have selected and priced a great design, which will fit neatly into the corner of the church.

‘The church is open 365 days a year for visitors to come and see the inside of this historic building, and the monuments and other contents. With our position right at the centre of the town, we aim to be a welcoming and inclusive place of worship and a venue for community events, and to be able to provide the hospitality to support all these uses of the building.’

‘This will be a fantastic improvement for the church and all of the Tavistock and surrounding community who use it.’

A spokesman added the planned work to creat the new toilet, kitchen and storage block would be delayed because the team ‘was not in a position to proceed with it.’