After a short wait of just 150 years Holy Trinity has its first ever toilet!

The church has no access to the mains water supply or sewerage, meaning it had no toilet facilities. Both the church and Worcester diocese looked carefully at all options before agreeing to a small external building with a Natsol composting toilet. 

The idea for a toilet at Holy Trinity first began in 2016. Fundraising began officially at Harvest 2017 with the launch of the Relief Fund and that was also the point at which the non-existent loo was twinned with 4 loos in Africa.

It is thanks to so many people that we have been able to raise the £26000 it has cost. There have been personal donations, plant and bulb sales, concerts, Easyfundraising online, cake sales that have all been organised by a hardworking and dedicated HT team. And a particular mention and thanks to everyone for continuing the efforts through the COVID pandemic with pop up sales along the roadside...incredible work.

It was a team effort too in going through every possibility of toilet type and style. Ultimately we came back to the very first suggestion of a composting toilet. And after more research, including a visit to Bearwood allotments, we decided on this NatSol one.

The final £14,700 was granted by the National Lottery and the groundworks were done – we used a company who had installed the one we had visited.

Then it was down to a huge team effort again to build the building and install the fittings. Juggling around all sorts of weather and own work schedules. The build coincided with Rogation weekend and the plant sale so we invited visitors to write a message or prayer on a tile before it was added to the roof. 

The toilet is not just for the Sunday congregation, or Rake and Cake crew...but for everyone – it’s already been available and used at a funeral and a wedding and is open for visitors to the churchyard and those just passing through. A real community facility.

So it is a huge thank you to every one who has donated, bought cakes, bought plants, come to a concert. Everyone who searched the internet, made phone calls or has held a hammer or screwdriver or footed a ladder. Everyone who has made drinks and cakes or who has sent messages of encouragement or prayers.

To mark this achievement, Bishop Martin Gorrick, Bishop of Dudley joined the congregation and supporters for a celebration evening on 23rd July, and blessed the toilet and everyone involved.