Isleham church The Ark opens after 10-year self-build by congregation

A £4m church that has taken its members more than 10 years to build will officially open this weekend.

The Ark, in Isleham in the fens of Cambridgeshire, is thought to be one of the UK's biggest self-build projects.

Members decided to construct the timber-framed building when the congregation outgrew its 19th Century chapel in the village.

Martin Wells, of the church, said: "It's overwhelming - the sense that this thing is finished."

Mr Wells said the 2,200 sq m (23,500 sq ft) building is believed to be the biggest structure in Europe made in modern times from green oak - wood that is machined, processed and jointed before it is seasoned and dried.

The size of the self-funded project, modelled on a 15th Century Cambridgeshire barn, meant a sawmill had to be built first in 2009 to enable extra long oak beams to be cut.

Lockdowns due to the Covid pandemic, finding church members with the right skills and the on-site production of bespoke materials such as skirting boards have all led to delays.

"When we started building it was off the scale in the likelihood this would ever be built," said Mr Wells, one of the church's leaders.

"You hold faith in one hand, but in the other you're thinking we haven't got any money or materials, so to get from there to here is astonishing.

"The reality is we've had four guys on site who have chopped the trees down, built a sawmill, put the machines in, brought the material over and built it on site."

The team, made up of members of the congregation and helped by other worshippers, has been led by church head and former carpenter Paul Hedger.

Electrical installers, crane operators, hauliers and ground excavation workers have been among the few external contractors on the farmland site, donated by two worshippers.

At the start of the build, children carved their names into the huge supporting beams.

Now adults, they will be among those attending the official opening events on Saturday and Sunday.

Ellie Farnell, who was 10 years old when she added her name to the build, is now aged 21 and is getting married at the church in three weeks' time.

"It's so rare to have your name carved in a building - especially one that is so valuable to me," she said.

"I'd like to think future generations will look up and wonder who my friends and I were."

Mr Wells said the main auditorium alone could house 500 people, in contrast to the evangelical church's former Baptist chapel premises, which held about 150 worshippers.

Ceremonies have been taking place at The Ark over the last few years as phases have been completed, as well as a host of events.

But Mr Wells said while they continued to receive enquiries about weddings, conferences and other events, there were no solid plans at present on the venue's future direction outside of worship.

"Lots of small churches are closing, so to see a church that is growing is the most exciting thing.

"The idea was we'd open it this weekend and then we'd give God a blank canvas... and see where He wants to take us."

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