Sunday School Stories, Union Chapel, Islington

Value - £2m | Client - Union Chapel Project

Renovation and refurbishment of a Grade II* Listed Sunday School building at Union Chapel.

The Union Chapel is well-known as an internationally loved, award-winning, stunning independent music venue within a Grade I and II* Listed building complex of the Victorian period. It is also a charity, engaging and supporting the local community, and a non-conformist Church with a strong commitment to social justice. Hosting over 200 events a year in the main chapel, the ancillary buildings are regularly used for private hire, theatre rehearsals, community activities, film hire, conferences, office space and more.

The Sunday School is a Grade II* Listed building, designed by James Cubitt and completed in 1877. The room is a rare surviving example of an Akron-style plan, with the main hall surrounded by a gallery to three sides supported by cast iron columns, containing open alcoves and booths.

Thanks to funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF), the hall has been repaired and reopened for community use. The project included repairs to both the inside and outside of the building, improved accessible routes and services, and refurbishment of the Sunday School. It also introduced new AVU, underfloor heating, and upgraded mechanical, electrical, sound and lighting systems, helping turn the space into a flexible venue for the local community, visitors and supporters of Union Chapel.

A key structural part of the project was assessing the safety of the exposed gallery and designing the strengthening work needed to support it. Cast and wrought iron balustrades had to meet the strict requirements of the building’s Grade II* listed status which was essential to make the first-floor spaces, including the gallery and booths, safe and usable again.

“Clancy are dedicated in finding solutions to on-site problems / discoveries and BFF have enjoyed working with them on this project, they have operated collaboratively as part of the design team and would strongly recommend their appointment for similar conservation projects.
Upon appointment, they carried out additional investigations and analysis of the structure and were able to revise the scheme with positive impact on costs, achieving an improved value-for-money for the Client.” Faye Davies Managing Director – Burrell Foley Fischer Architects (Project Architects)