Building for the future

The Pineapple Project

The 1922 conversion of the Pineapple Public House to a Presbytery was undertaken by a young architect, HS Goodhart-Rendel, who later became Oxford’s Slade Professor of Fine Art and President of the Royal Institute of British Architects.

The Pineapple public house, 1922

The Presbytery, 2020

The library

Goodhart-Rendel’s influence on the building is particularly notable in the beautiful first floor library and dining rooms which still exist in their original form.

100 years on, the Pineapple Project will return the building to public use, opening up the ground floor and improving access to the first floor and basement.

Four key requirements have informed the proposed design:

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Creating a public space that can accommodate larger events (up to 60)

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Upgrading facilities and access

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Connecting the church building with the presbytery

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RETAINING THE SIGNATURE FEATURES OF THE ORIGINAL DESIGN WHILE MAKING A SPACE FIT FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

St Marys Bourne Street - architects drawing

Proposed Ground Floor Community Hall

Proposed Ground Floor plan

Planning has been granted and our intention is that building work can begin and be completed in 2022/23. We have already received a number of generous donations, for which we are immensely grateful. The work to raise funds continues and we thank our entire community for its interest and the support it has shown so far.