A fund was also established to buy a permanent house for the chaplain. Richard Pring, writing in 1912, remarked that even when the new Lötschberg railway had been opened, and the Bellevue and Schweizerhof Hotels reopened, the chaplain's income was unlikely to exceed £130 or £150 a year, "and that, without a house, especially for a married man, is totally inadequate." He hoped that a house would soon be built, so that "Berne may no longer be looked upon as quite one of most underpaid chaplaincies on the Continent." In 1914, the church received a grant of Fr 1752.30 from SPG, and 29 individual subscriptions added Fr 1690. Collections totalled Fr 3079.70. Out of this, the church had to fund the chaplain's stipend, which amounted to Fr 4432.50 (the equivalent then of £180). The remainder went to pay the cleaner, the gardener, and the expenses of running the church. The chaplain at the time lived in the Pension Herter in Kramgasse. Although a Vicarage Fund existed (amounting in 1914 to Fr 435 (or £17)), successive chaplains found their own accommodation up until 1956 (latterly at Kirchenfeldstrasse 50, adjacent to the church). The Bell Fund and the Sanctuary Fund were regarded as more important. (The bell was cast in 1918 by the firm of Rüetschi in Aarau.) During the First World War, the church was sometimes filled to overflowing. However, in the interwar years, the congregation seldom exceeded 30, and consisted largely of Anglo-Swiss families, with a small representation from the diplomatic community. (A notable event was in 1922, when General Booth of the Salvation Army visited.) The permanent English-speaking population of Bern was relatively small between the wars. As part of the Coronation celebrations in 1953, the church community had already started an ambitious campaign to raise Fr 120000 to build a hall and adjacent house for the chaplain. The city architectural department gave support and advice, but part of the plan involved the city's education department using the hall during the week. This was contrary to the covenants which the Bern Land Company had given the church's neighbours when the church was originally built, that the land would only be used for a church. After a public inquiry, the city withdrew its plans to use the hall, and permission was given. Preliminary building work was completed in 1956, but the final structure was only finished in January 1960.