New Gateway at St Mary’s Church, Parndon
St Mary’s Church, Parndon in Harlow have been celebrating the opening of their new gateway entrance. MEB Design have been working with the church since 2013 and have recently secured planning consent for a new adjoining hall. The church are currently seeking funding for the extension, which will include a meeting hall, toilets, and ancillary spaces.
A ceremony was held, as part of the church’s summer fete on Saturday 11th September, to celebrate the provision of a new gateway and overthrow. This has been financed within a section 106 provision (stipulated in the granting of planning permission for the housing adjacent to the churchyard). An artist, David Murphy was the winner of a limited competition administered by the Harlow Arts Trust. His design is a reinterpretation of a traditional overthrow that once graced the western access to the church yard, and within a new entrance on the churchyard’s south wall, linking the church to the newly built housing estate. The overthrow consists of a series of spheres, fabricated of Corten steel, and welded to form a skewed arch, which is attached to posts, within the newly built piers. An LED light is incorporated, which provides a soft warm light to the ground.
The provision of public art, was central to the conception of the Harlow plan, and to this day there exists sculptures by substantial artists, such as Barbara Hepworth, August Rodin, Elizabeth Frink, et al and is now ‘officially’ the 104th artwork in the town.
Day Starts with Morning – a new site specific work by David Murphy.
“Marking the threshold between the sacred space of the church and surrounding civic space, this new artwork welcomes the new community of Ram Gorse Park to the historic context of St Mary’s Church” Artist David Murphy
