"I am delighted to say that the church will re-open next Wednesday. As with all churches, working in accordance with government guidelines, we shall be opening for private prayer only. We are opening the Lady Chapel which will be accessed by the priest's door and there will be a marked route to the west end of the church where there will be an opportunity to light candles in remembrance of those who have died and for other prayer intentions. As we are uncertain what impact this will have, and in order to follow necessary hygiene expectations which keep everybody safe, we shall be opening for a few hours (10.00 til 2.00) on four days week (Wed - Sat) to begin with. We can relax this and open for longer and on more days as we get used to how this works. 

We felt that the Lady Chapel is the place that most people would wish to have open and we will monitor the numbers coming in and revise our plans if we need to. There will be very clear signage from outside (both north and south sides) to ensure everyone knows how to get in. 

This is a wonderful moment in the life of SMR: a real visible sign of the recovery from the turbulent times we have been living through. I am very aware that some people (possibly many people) had hoped we would open earlier, and it's marvellous that everything is on track (despite significant floods in the Undercroft and parish office yesterday) for Wednesday morning."