Member Article

Treske praised for its "magnificent" work at listed Hertfordshire church

The independent furniture and kitchen manufacturer Treske has been praised for its “magnificent” work at the Grade 2 listed St John’s Church in Hatfield in Hertfordshire.

Thirsk-based Treske, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, was chosen to provide a brand-new altar rail for St John’s.

Church Warden Simon Archer, chair of the PCC committee who commissioned Treske to design, manufacture and install the altar rail after visiting the company’s website, said that he was delighted with the result.

“St John’s is a Grade 2 listed building and we therefore had to ensure that any changes were acceptable. The existing communion rail had a large gap, which made it difficult for our increasingly elderly congregation to kneel when receiving the sacrament.

“Treske provided various options and were very patient as we decided which one to choose. Their craftsmen did a magnificent job. The new rail is solid and provides a firm support when in place and although quite large and heavy, it is easy to fit,” he added. “It is superb and looks excellent”.

Justin Bartlett, the owner and managing director of Treske, commented: “It is always tremendous to get such positive feedback. This was technically a challenging job and we are proud of our skills in being able to carry out this kind of work.

“We made the centre gull wing section to exactly match and fit between the existing altar rails. This was very difficult on many levels. The fit had to be exact, as did the matching of the actual shapes of the rail to the existing rail – otherwise it would have looked very poor.

“Colour was important – we used Sapelle to match with the mahogany used on the original rails. The top and base of the rail was darkened to match the corresponding pieces on each side, but the uprights were bleached in order to make the Sapelle lighter and match in with the paler mahogany used in the original uprights.

“Although this was not a large project, it was very important to get these factors correct. Otherwise the finished centre rail would have looked out of place and not fitted. We also re-fixed the existing rails to the floor as they were wobbly and would have made for unacceptable variation for the piece we were making,” he explained.

The foundation stone for the new modern church of St John’s was laid by Princess Alexandra of Kent in 1958. The building was a unique design by the architect, Peter Bosanquet, and was consecrated on 26th March, 1960. An adjacent hall was built in 1964 and serves as a Youth and Community Centre.

Justin Bartlett added: “The vicar, Fiona Wheatley, has now moved to the nearby Holy Trinity Church at Weston, near Baldock, where we have made choir stalls and bench seating, so we now have a strong connection with the Hertfordshire area.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Robert Beaumont .