The 1980s was the Margaret Thatcher decade bringing us the Falklands War, the miners’ strike, IRA bombings, a host of privatisations, the ‘yuppie’, the fall of the Berlin wall – and the birth of the World Wide Web.
The Old Church Hall
Big changes were also taking place in the parish with the opening of the St Clare’s centre in 1981 and at St Francis with the building of the new Church Hall, opened in 1986 and car park extension in 1987. Fund-raising also took on an interesting turn with two ‘exotic pudding’ parties being held in 86 and 87!
The congregation also got a little warmer when gas fired central heating was installed in 1983 and wooden doors replaced curtains in the entrance porch and the entrance to the Lady Chapel. The 14 Stations of the Cross were placed around the walls of the nave in 1984 and the upright chairs from the 1940s were replaced by bench pews in1985.
Construction of the New Church Hall
Viewable PDF's of Original Documents
1980's
