After a whole month of digging and levelling, the first stage of building work at Ashington Parish church is well under way, and on schedule!

During these first few weeks the works have concentrated on removing the flooring and digging out tons of rubble to reduce the ground level by nearly two feet.

Over the next few weeks the floor level will gradually be rebuilt, layer by layer and will incorporate the new under floor heating system.

One of the issues that can affect church renovations is the possibility of finding human bones and that is exactly what did happen here at Ashington during the second week. A number of bones and part of a human skull were found in the southern part of the church, and the official procedure was immediately put into place. An archaeologist was called to observe the building works and to check that the bones were not from a grave. Once it was established that the bones had simply been reburied - probably as a result of disturbing the ground when the South Aisle extension was added in 1872 - building work was cleared to continue, without any delay to the schedule.

The most recent work has focused on the high ceiling; in order create a feeling of light and space, the dark wooden planks in between the ceiling beams have been covered with plaster board, which are easier to maintain than painting the existing wooden ceiling, and will be painted the same light colour as the church walls. Once the work on the ceiling has been completed, the work on rebuilding the floor level will continue.

"We are really pleased with the quality of the work and expertise shown by Farnrise Construction Ltd. Their input into the decision-making process has been excellent," says Peter Lewis, Property Secretary at Ashington Church.

"In addition, our architect, John Minter, is doing a superb job managing everything and we are blessed as a Church to be working with him and Farnrise."

There are a few pews left for sale so if you would like to buy a little bit of local history then contact Geoff Tute, our fundraising Chairman on 01903 745004.