Development

Development

The management of the Chaplaincy has recently been restructured and we thank the Newman Trustees, Nicholas Purcell (Chair), Carl Schmidt, Anne-Marie Drummond and Christopher McCrudden and the Oxford Board members, Bishop John Arnold (Chair), Amy Zavatsky, Richard Parish, Jack Eyston, Fr. Brendan Callaghan SJ, Catherine Mountford, Helen Merrington-Rust for all their time and hard work that has gone in to producing a more efficient structure for managing the chaplaincy. 

The Chaplaincy now has a management committee that operates on behalf of Trust and Board, supporting chaplains and administrator.  We are very grateful to Helen Merrington-Rust, Fr Gerry Hughes SJ, Catherine Mountford, Carl Schmidt and John Keeling for taking on this task.

Buildings

Fr Jeremy Fairhead, during his time, re-ordered the Thomas More Chapel beautifully and refurbished the Old Palace Kitchen to a professional standard, all through charitable donations which he had raised himself.

Over the last two years, thanks to the creative initiative of Fr. Roger Dawson SJ, the assistant chaplain, the Blue Room in the Old Palace has been redecorated and refurnished and looks very splendid.  In addition the Narthex area has been repainted and recarpeted.  New pictures have been hung and the entrance now looks much warmer and more inviting.  These projects have been supported by the Newman Trustees

The major expense for the Trustees over the last few years has been the planned maintenance and repair of the roofs and of the New Building and the Old Palace initiated under Fr Jeremy Fairhead.  The last part of that cycle of maintenance is now complete and this summer the Old Palace roof has been renewed and the exterior woodwork, plasterwork and paintwork repaired.  Many thanks to Jon Hartley our surveyor and to Midland Builders for a great job.  The cost of the operation has been significant for the Newman Trust, at a time of recession and any help with the £250,000 needed will be gratefully received.

A programme of work on the interior of the Old Palace and New Buildings is now being developed.

Newman Room Project

Newman Room Project

The next main project from the point of view of the Chaplaincy will be to redevelop the Newman Room, to preserve the multifunctional space, but at the same time to make it easier to transform the room into a good modern space for liturgy.  Part of the redevelopment would include the purchase of new altar furniture and a new electronic organ. Again any help towards this project would be gratefully received.