Published: 16 December 2011
by ANDREW JOHNSON

A LEADING heritage organisation has issued a warning over the state of repair of two of Islington’s most beautiful churches – the Union Chapel in Compton and Holy Trinity in Cloudesley Square.

A report by SAVE London’s Heritage, dealing with churches at risk throughout London, says that although the Union Chapel – James Cubbitt’s gothic revival building which faced demolition in 1982 – is on the one hand a great success ­story, much repair work still needs to be done.

The Grade II-listed “cathedral among nonconformist meeting houses” in St Mary’s has found a new lease of life as a music venue, while continuing to operate as a church.

But it still suffers from crumbling brickwork, leaking windows and the tower is currently undergoing a £2million repair programme.

Holy Trinity, in Barnsbury, also Grade II-listed, is in a much worse condition. It was built in 1829 and was designed by Sir Charles Barry, the architect responsible for the Palace of Westminster.

The report, entitled London’s Churches are Fighting Back, says it’s reminiscent of East Anglia’s “great Perpendicular churches”.

Holy Trinity was made redundant by the Church of England in the 1970s, but more recently has been taken over by the Celestial Church of Christ.

SAVE’s report looks again at churches it first identified as in danger of demolition 30 years ago. While many, including the Union Chapel, are no longer under such severe risk, they still need large amounts of money to maintain them.

And although some churches, like Holy ­Trinity, have found smaller denominations to use them, it is still an uphill struggle for them to raise the necessary funds, the Victorian Society’s Edmund Harris, who wrote the report, said.

Mr Harris added that, ultimately, it was up to local communities to use the buildings – not necessarily for worship – if they were to have a future.
“It’s always preferable for a church to have a congregation than to be left empty,” he said.

“Once they are made redundant a new use has to be found to enable them to carry on. In the past there used to be a safety net with the Anglican church’s Conservation Trust.

The church would at least be tidied up inside and turned into a museum. But, like everyone else, with the current economic climate there isn’t the money there.

“Holy Trinity was deemed redundant in the 1970s and is now used by the Celestial Church of Christ, many of whose members are from outside the area.

But churches can still be a comm­unity hub. The key is getting people who aren’t worshippers through the door, so they can see the resource they have on their doorstep.”

Marcus Binney, President of SAVE, added that although the Union Chapel was a “great success story”, it was too early “to relax”. “There are many more congregations than there are churches,” he said. “Since our last survey things have got much better and churches are no longer being demolished.”

UNION CHAPEL

UNION Chapel was built in 1876-77, with the tower completed in 1889 in the French Gothic style.

It was designed by James Cubitt to give the 1,650 congregation an unobstructed view of the pulpit, which, with its acoustics, makes it an excellent music venue.

It was founded by a group of Anglicans who had seceded from Islington parish church in 1799.

The report describes the church’s preservation as “one of the most heartening examples.

That it is still standing is a tribute to the efforts of all who have cared for it.

That it is still deemed to be at risk is a measure of the enormity of the task.

Thanks to the imaginative and determined efforts of enthusiastic locals who formed the Friends of Union Chapel in 1982, the chapel has remained open as a working church, an award-winning events venue and a centre for those who are homeless or in crisis.

“The chapel remains on English Heritage’s “at risk” register... The biggest challenge has been the tower, which has structural movement.

Fortunately, a major programme of repairs is now underway, costing £2m.

Work is also required on the heating and wiring of the whole complex, while the organ (installed in 1877) also needs to be overhauled and restored.”

Its website adds: “Much needs to be done both outside and in. Crumbling brickwork, leaking windows and statues with broken noses all need attention – but our first priority is the tower.”

HOLY TRINITY CHURCH

HOLY Trinity Church was built between 1826-29 by Sir Charles Barry as the centrepiece of a Regency housing development.

The report says: “Much time and effort had to be expended before it could be used for services again.

Since then there have been basic cosmetic repairs.

The building is now weather tight, but the work done has really only dealt with the most pressing concerns and there is no sense of an overall strategy to deal with the building properly.

“The turrets of the west facade are still in a poor state and clad in blue netting to catch falling masonry.

Internally, the damage caused by the water ingress is all too visible and throughout the interior paint peels and plater crumbles.

Green netting has been stretched underneath the nave of the roof to catch debris falling from decayed roof trusses.

English Heritage has described its condition as ‘poor’.

The parish has been quoted £70,000 just for redecoration of the interior.