St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Hanover NH
This historic stone church, long associated with outreach to Dartmouth College, is situated on a compact site in downtown Hanover, surrounded by three college-associated buildings. In 2001 a project was undertaken to redesign the chancel and renovate the “undercroft” or basement for choir and educational spaces, add a large gathering room with adjacent kitchen, and enlarge the adminstrative and clergy offices. Construction necessitated the complete vacancy of the church for a year-long period.
As a parish member and part-time staffperson for children and youth, I served as “chief architect” for the transition period during which the church staff and Christian education programs were relocated to Edgerton House.
My oversight included:
- packing and storage of the church’s library in Edgerton House, St. Thomas’ campus ministry building
- space planning and furniture layouts for church offices, which moved to Edgerton’s library and basement
- arrangements for classes to meet on the upper floors of Edgerton House and in the adjacent Hanover Recreation Department building
- full architectural services for the building, life safety, and accessibility code upgrades required by the town due to the temporarily changed use of Edgerton House.
- advisory input to the building committee for the main church project on aspects relevant to the children’s and youth programs
- assisting the parish to reinstate the staff and educational classes in their new home when construction was complete