The 5 October 1955 was a busy day at the typewriter for Commander Charlewood.
From Commander Charlewood
To Reema Construction Limited, Milford Manor, Salisbury, Wilts
Dear Sirs,
PARLEY CROSS
I am directed by the West Parley Parochial Church Council to enquire whether a representative of Reema Construction Limited, could meet the Rector, the Rev. W.J.Freeman, and myself at West Parley Rectory, Dudsbury Avenue, Ferndown, at 11 a.m. on Wednesday the 12th of October with a view to your furnishing estimates for the erection of a Reema dual-purpose hall on the Parley Cross site.
The hall should by designed to seat 200/250 and two estimates are asked for :-( a ) a building with a Sanctuary;( a building without a Sanctuary.The siting of the hall should be in accordance with the enclosed plan which is forwarded for your guidance and with the authorization of Messrs. Allner, Morley and Bolton of Poole who are acting for my Council as consulting surveyors.
I remain, dear Sirs,
your faithfully
Charlewood
Reema were prompt with their reply dated 7 October when the Sales Manager wrote to say "our Consulting Architect, Mr Magnus Austin of Poole" would attend the meeting. A slight stepping on toes here by Charlewood reffering to Allner Morley & Bolton as mere surveyors, Morley was a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and Bolton was a fully qualified architect (A.R.I.B.A.), never mind all is fair in love war and getting the contract. The meeting took place on the morning of the 12 October 1955 and that afternoon Mr Austin wrote a letter :-
To Rev Freeman
From L Magnus Austin Architect
Dear Sir,
West Parley Mission Hall
This is to confirm the meeting between yourself, Commander Charlewood, Mr White and myself this morning, the points discussed being as follows :
1) You wish us to proceed with a sketch scheme for a hall with a seating capacity of 150/200 with the entrance to the hall at one side, a stage at one end and a sanctuary at at the other.
2) You also asked us to prepare a similar scheme for a hall to seat approximately 200/250 people. Mr White will be producing these sketches as soon as he is able and will forward you copies and at at the same time send copies to Reema Construction Ltd so that they may get out approximate estimates.
3) We visited the site and provisionally arranged that the hall should run along the rear edge of the site. We are to provide a cess pool or septic tank at the bottom right hand corner. We also discussed the possibility of purchasing a small portion of the adjoining property so that we may get access to the road adjoining. As pointed out by Mr White this would save considerable expense as the cost of building a road from the main Bournemouth road to the hall would be very high. However for the time being we will keep to the original plan suggested by Mr Morley for application for Byelaw and Town Planning approvals.
Yours faithfully
L M Austin
So that is two firms saying they will get planning approval. Perhaps it will get built twice. More interestingly is the reference in number 3 of the letter to septic tank. I find this surprising as with Winnards Close nearly completed I would have thought there was main drainage from the outset, you would think Mr White would check first. And of course there is this question of access. On the 29 October 1954 the planning authority had given permission for the "hardened forecourt", car park in other words, accessable from the main road. Are Freeman and Charlewood still hankering after rear access or had they just plain forgotten? The Rector perused these plans the other day (February 2008) and said there is still a small square area to the rear of the Rectory that he does not think is his and obviously neither does his neighbour, as it is so unkempt in an otherwise perfect garden. There is nothing in the records I have seen to indicate it belongs to St Marks.
Mr White had produced his sketch plan by the 17 October 1955 but unfortunately I can find no trace of it anywhere. On the 24 October Reema came up with their estimates.
From Reema Construction
To Rev. W J. Freeman
Dear Sir,
re : West Parley Mission Hall
Further to Mr Magnus Austin's letter of the 17th October, we have given consideration to the plan he has produced and the following are our approximate estimates for the Halls concerned.
a) Building as layout with main hall 24ft wide.£5,200 to £5,500.b) Building as layout but main hall 29ft 3ins wide,£5,800 to £6,100.We trust, after due consideration, that these prices are within the region of the funds that you have available for this project. They are quoted as the building being on a flat site and do not include any work to the Sanctuary other than providing the sliding doors and block walling, etc., necessary for carrying the overhead track etc.
The price also includes for 20 yds.sup. of 3inch gravel path, leaving the water main 16ft from the building for connection to the main supply, 36 yds.1inch. of 4inch surface water drainage connected to and including 4 soakaways, and 40 yds.1inch of 4inch soil drainage, including No.4 manholes, drainage left ready to connect to the public sewers.
Should there be any further particulars you require from us, we shall be pleased so send our representative to meet you at any time convenient.
Assuring you of our best attention
Yours faithfully
for Reema Construction Ltd Chief Estimator
Talks must have been taking place whilst Reema were doing their sums as on the 15 November their involvement was brought to an end. And that is why St Marks Hall is a brick building and not prefabricated concrete as is the Church proper. It is a larger building and cost more, it is not that subsequent parishioners were any less generous.
From Charlewood
To Reema Construction Ltd
Dear Sirs,
WEST PARLEY CHURCH HALL
With reference to my letter of the 5th October 1955, and your reply thereto, dated the 7th October 1955, I am directed by the West Parley Parochial Church Council to inform you that the Council after careful consideration has decided not to erect a REEMA building on the church site at Parley Cross.
My Council desires me to convey to the REEMA Construction Limited an expression of its appreciatation of the trouble taken by the REEMA representatives and to thank them for all they have done.
I remain, dear Sirs,
Yours faithfully
Charlewood
And there we leave it at the end of 1955. The detail of construction commences in 1956 and I wish that the PCC has choosen a firm with a shorter name than Allner Morley and Bolton, the name just keeps cropping up and its a lot of typing.
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