South Woodham Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses has built a new hall of worship. More than 1,000 volunteer workers from all over Essex and Suffolk took just four days to construct a barn-style Kingdom Hall opposite the Shaw Farm pub in South Woodham.
Elder Keith Brooker said: "After several years of planning and consultation with architects, we are proud to have a place of worship in our own town."
Previously, the group travelled to Wickford for its regular meetings.
Public meetings will now be held at the hall every Sunday, with private meetings taking place on Thursdays.
Picture, top: Painting and decorating are Luke Clark, Craig Poole-Adams and James Preston.
Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
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