Beechgrove

We are situated in the old village of Haylands on the outskirts of Ryde. The church complex consists of the Sanctuary, which can be split into two large areas to facilitate various sizes of meetings, a newer building has a suite of three rooms - one large and two small, and we own, on site, a very large Victorian house; all this within a spacious, well kept area consisting of a very large, well laid out garden area with on-site parking (parking is also permitted on the adjoining roads).

Haylands is a residential area with mainly older houses, though there are a few new housing developments, and it is just a mile or so from Ryde Esplanade, with regular bus services in either direction. There are local, easy-to-reach, shops from which most everyday items can be bought within a quarter mile of our site. We are easily reachable from the Cat terminal at Ryde Pier head, the Hover craft base on the Promenade or by car from Fishbourne. The nearest railway station is Ryde St. John's which is about half a mile away.

The church itself was built in the early 1970's in the extensive grounds of the large house, 'Beechgrove' which has 4 large upper rooms, 4 downstairs rooms and an old stable block which has now been converted into toilets and storage facilities.

The fellowship has a clear and distinct ministry to young people who attend various events on our premises; these young people are from our own fellowship, from other fellowships and from no Christian background whatsoever. We have a Pilots Company, Scouts, Junior Family Church, Mums & Toddlers and an Annual Holiday Club as well as the only Island Montessori Nursery as well as a growing Beechgrove Babies, Mums and Toddlers Group.

We also cater for older people! We have aThrift Club (weekly savings for Church and community use), The Monday Club (a secular friendship group), a new venture - 'Experiences' is run on alternate Thursdays for those who wish to come and join in a chat and gossip about the good old bad old days with free tea and coffee, cakes and/or biscuits - this is NOT a Christian gathering, though it is run by Church folk. We have a Bible Study group, we are home of the Haylands Horticultural Show (Best Show in a Hall in 2006), we host concerts for charitable organisations, arrange talks by local historians, we hold Alpha Courses which are delivered live by our Minister, and our Coffee Mornings fund various things, some of which for mainly charitable purposes, and we offer a full range of Church services for the whole Island community.

Our long term vision has been to update all our buildings and, in particular, to improve Beechgrove House so that it can be better used by the Church and the community, to this end we continue to restore, repair or replace various things to allow us to make the best use of what God has given us.

The Sanctuary - looking from the rear wall to the front

The works within the Church itself have provided a new, large storage area, new carpeting throughout, a fully fitted kitchen, a new cloakroom and a toilet for the disabled, all within the existing structure. We have yet to complete the work on our book and video library as well as updating our existing sound facilities - we already have a 6 x 6 drop down screen, 1800 lumens projector, 3 radio and 3 ordinary microphones as well as a piano, organ and a keyboard. We have a full loop system in the Sanctuary which has a seating capacity of approx. 150 (depending on the layout chosen). We are now have new keyboards (one for the Sanctuary and one for the Wessex Rooms) and are sourcing new speakers to allow us to have outdoor services in the summer. Our prime noticeboard is now in place; it faces towards Ryde and can be seen more easily, especilally by those who have to stop at the road hump near our gardens. All the buildings on site have been rewired/tested by commercial electricians and al l fire regulations have been complied with throughout the site.

The Sanctuary - loooking at the new rear wall with new kitchen and store

The end result of this work is that we now have all the facilities that are needed to allow a much wider use of the whole complex for our own outreach into youth work, for the community, the Island and for Christians in general.

The Church, large house and part of the garden area.

Beechgrove House is currently used by our Pilots Company, our Thrift Club, as a Polling Station and for various Church activities. It is ideal, particularly if used in conjunction with other parts of the site, for Elders, PCC or whole Church away-days, pack holidays by Brownies or other youth groups. Beechgrove is currently 'home' to the Montessori Nursery on the Island. We are pleased to be able to make the facility available for these young people who throroughly enjoy the large gardens on site, as well as the recently decorated and restored downstairs of the House. We are hoping that the upstairs might be used for a Youth Worker in due time, as the Lord wills and provides.

The Wessex Rooms (and toilet block to the left) includes our Creche and extra Meeting Rooms

The Wessex Rooms are also used by our Pilots, the 5th Ryde Scouts, Junior Family Church, our Creche, Beechgrove Babies (mums and toddlers) Church Business Meetings, Experiences, the Monday Club, and local community use through hiring out the larger room for parties as well as for WI meetings, Horticultural Society Meetings and vraious other uses. The Wessex Rooms have a sound system (though no loop) available, facilities for hot drinks etc., the large room can be subdivided into two smaller rooms, each with its own entrance door and a television/video facility. It currently does not have in inside toilet - they are in the block to the left of the Wessex in the picture above. Our next phase is to change the configuaration of the Wessex Rooms so that we can have one large 'L' shaped room and the 3rd room will be madeinto a store and and have a toilet added so that there will be no need to wander out into the elements to respond to personal needs.

All our buildings are suitable for use by those who are physically less able.

If you would like to use our site for your organisation's events, whether you are on the Island or on the mainland, please email a contact name and telephone number, along with your organisations name and postal address and our Booking Secretary will contact you