Custom Church Staging
The Staging Requirement
St John’s Church in Alresford, Hampshire, required an affordable tiered portable custom staging system that would efficiently and safely fit into the confines of the old building’s sanctuary – an area which included pillars and a baptismal font. The church stage needed to be big enough to accommodate a large choir and be viewed easily by the audience or congregation.
An added challenge was to enable the large number of choir members to get on and off the stage in reasonable time, safely and smoothly. This required the large multi-level stage to include two access points at the rear in addition to the natural open access from the front. Additionally, since this would be used several times a year as a concert stage, it was important that the bespoke staging was straightforward to erect, dismantle and store.
Modular Stage System’s Solution
Our modular stage system is strong but light and simple to assemble – with no special tools needed. Created from a framework of sturdy steel tubes, with joints and deck boards, it can be readily customised to suit different applications, environments and spaces.
We pride ourselves on working with clients personally to provide the individual best solution for their custom staging specifications. We made two site visits to St John’s Church to survey and measure the platform area, and to understand the specific requirements.
The church stage design produced for St John’s incorporates five tiers (or choir risers) of multi-level modular staging, all with guard rails. The required rear access is provided in two places at the back, via two four-step units which lead on to a further four strategically placed modules acting as landings.
Each rear access point uses guard rails from start to finish and has the versatility to be angled away from or parallel to the stage. The rear access points are unseen by the audience but allow choir members to take their places in an orderly and safe manner.
The front tier is the widest, with the whole shape of the stage making the optimum use of space available while taking account of the church pillars. Our 3-D design software provided St John’s with photo-realistic images of the proposed custom staging, and we also guided the church in its successful Big Lottery Fund application to help fund the project. Delivery of the equipment was made at a time to suit the church staff, and we helped them with the initial assembly.
The Results for the Bespoke Staging
Our bespoke staging fulfils the remit of providing a large podium area with a tiered portable stage to fit perfectly into the space allowed. The modules are convenient and compact to store and reassemble, unlike heavy and bulky wooden staging blocks. While contemporary in design, the stage does not detract from the beauty of the church, with the large stained glass window providing a dramatic backdrop to the concert stage.
In addition, thanks to the versatility of our modules, the staging system offers supreme flexibility as it can be used to build a smaller configuration to suit different activities if required. Tony Stanton of St John’s is delighted with our solution, as the new custom staging not only meets their needs – and at a price that they could afford – but also accommodates more choir members than before.
