ACTOR and comedian Ronnie Barker’s legacy could live on if church fundraisers rescue the run-down hall where his career started.

Members of St Mary and St John’s Church began a campaign to revamp their Cowley Road hall after it fell into disrepair.

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 Ronnie Barker, centre with arms crossed, in an early performance at the Oxford Playhouse            

It was home to amateur dramatic group Theatre Players, where Mr Barker of Porridge, Open All Hours and The Two Ronnies TV fame took his first steps on the stage.

Fundraisers have raised more than £105,000 of their £120,000 target, but need the remainder so theatre groups can perform there once again.

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Now church members will hold a musical fundraiser on Thursday, December 4 between 7.30pm and 9.30pm to boost the cashflow, Church member John Hammock, from East Oxford, said: “I think it’s important to know that somebody local made it into the limelight and it was something they did locally that was their first opportunity.”

The church hall has been out of action for about ten years and, determined to renovate the Victorian building, Mr Hammock united with other members to start the fundraising appeal.

Money raised will be used to install new flooring, underfloor heating, bathrooms and a kitchen, as well as support projects including programmes for elderly and homeless residents.

It is also hoped the hall will once more play host to theatre groups’ performances and rehearsals.

Comedian Hugh Dennis, who presented a BBC documentary on Mr Barker in 2013, said: “Church halls can be a fantastic resource for the public.

“I am delighted that this one is to be refurbished. It will make a huge difference to the local community”.

Various amounts have been given from groups including not-for-profit environmental body WREN, Garfield Foundation and the Trust for Oxfordshire’s Environment.

But fundraisers also set their own target of £25,000 and have since raised £15,000 through donations and events.

Mr Hammock, 70, said he hoped planning permission would be granted within the next few weeks so renovation on the Grade II Listed building can begin in December, with the hall ready to open in April.

Church member Janet McCrae, of East Oxford, said: “Being in the churchyard, working there every week, you meet the people passing by and some of the people that work with us would appreciate the facility.”

An actor's life for him

  • Ronnie Barker was born in Bedford in 1929 before his family moved to Oxford.
  • He lived at 386 Cowley Road before moving to 23 Church Cowley Road, where he lived until 1949, then at 4 Oliver Road.
  • HE was a pupil at Donnington Junior School and later was awarded a scholarship to the City of Oxford High School for Boys, in George Street.
  • His first job was as a clerk at Cowley’s Westminster Bank and he also worked as a porter at the Wingfield-Morris Hospital, now known as the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre.
  • He also spent his early years performing with the Oxford  Playhouse theatre company.
  • After retirement, he ran antiques shop The Emporium in Chipping Norton with wife Joy.
  • He died of heart disease in 2005 at Adderbury’s Katharine House Hospice.


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