Member Article

Treske Praised For Pivotal Role In £500,000 Regeneration Of Historic Chester Church

Treske, the leading North Yorkshire bespoke manufacturer of furniture, kitchens and church furnishings, has played a pivotal role in the £500,000 refurbishment of Chester’s Wesley Methodist Church.

The company, based in Thirsk, provided nearly 200 bespoke chairs and trolleys, a new communion table, a lectern and a suspended cross to create a brand-new worship area in the Grade II-listed church in St John Street. Justin Bartlett, manging director of Treske, explained: “This was a significant commission for us and we are very proud of the result. We are delighted that our work has been well-received – and honoured to have been part of such an important regeneration project.”

The Rev Neil Stacey, Superintendent Minister, commented: “The aim was to create a sacred space where everyone feels welcome, combining the inspiring architecture of the interior with the flexibility needed for a wide range of worship styles and community activities.

“Our worship space was proving too restrictive for the way we want to worship on Sundays and it also needed a radical transformation if it was to contribute to our welcome during the week.”

“The project included replacing the majority of the darkly varnished pine pews with chairs. As the church is Grade II-listed, it was an approval condition from the Methodist listed building authority that the new chairs should be of high quality design and construction. “One of our project team members made a visit to the Treske showroom and workshop and was impressed by the care, quality and craftsmanship which goes into the making of each piece of furniture. This design was chosen for both the main and supplementary chair requirements, giving a uniform effect when all chairs are in use.

“The final choices of wood colour (natural beech) and seat pad colour was made between Wesley and our Architect, Donald Insall Associates, and then approved by the Methodist-listed building authority.

“Project Regenerate! is judged by the Wesley congregation and community to have been a great success. The new chairs, communion table, lectern and suspended cross provided by Treske contribute in a very significant way to the overall feel of hospitality and warmth in the modernised space.

The Rev Neil Stacey concluded: “We are delighted with the way the Wesley interior has been reordered and modernised. In particular the furniture supplied by Treske is stylish and enhances the feel of lightness, warmth and hospitality that we were seeking to achieve. The chairs are very comfortable and their lightness is proving to be great boon in facilitating layout changes during the course of each week. We all felt that it was a pleasure dealing with Treske as a supplier - they were creative, flexible and very customer focused”.

Meanwhile Andrew Flanagan of Chester-based Donald Insall Associates, who played a pivotal role in Project Regenerate, commented: “DIA and Treske worked closely to design a new image of the church and combined their efforts to deliver a high-quality result. Architectural features and furniture design blend together to give a unique feeling to the space and act as a single personality.”

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