Nestling serenely in the shadow of the 19th century St Mary’s Church – and dwarfed by its 250-foot steeple – lies one of London’s most venerable buildings. The old church of St Mary’s, built in 1563 and partially rebuilt in the 19th century, is without doubt one of the most architecturally important places of worship in Hackney and, indeed, for miles beyond.

The church is a mixture of historical styles, with its Tudor south aisle and tower facing a north aisle built in the 1950s after WW2 bomb damage, and its interior invokes a sense of quiet spirituality as well as an air of quaint, musty neglect. This latter is hardly surprising as the church is open only one day a week – Sunday – and is normally locked up the rest of the week, thereby denying locals the opportunity to visit this rare mediaeval space.

However, St Mary’s rector, 44-year-old Jonathan Clark, has ambitious plans for the building. As the Anglican Church is thinking about relaxing its guidelines on churches becoming multi-use, and as the new licensing legislation has decreed that churches no longer need entertainment licences, Jonathan is intending to turn the church into a multi-use venue, ‘a resource for the local community’. He says that he is hoping to make the building self-financing in a way which will ‘enhance the life of the local community while not contradicting the Christian ethos of the church’. He would like this to include contemporary liturgy in the context of ambient music, as well as more secular events such as exhibitions, meetings, wedding parties, drama, poetry and music concerts. So regular garage punk rock gigs, then? ‘No, that would not be appropriate’, but country rock concerts, such as the recent, packed-out City Farmers gig at the Fringe would certainly be welcome.

Jonathan’s plans would involve restoring the most ancient parts of the building, but also bringing it up to date for modern-day users, with proper heating, lighting, toilets – and even comfortable seating. In the longer term, he would like to knock down the north wall and rebuild it in the pre-War style, both for aesthetic reasons and also to provide more space for the venue and room for offices for local community groups and possibly a fair trade cafe. Ambitious indeed, and an application to the Lottery Heritage Fund would almost certainly be required, but Jonathan seems a determined man so don’t bet against it happening.

Stoke Newington desperately needs more venues, particularly for music, and the church’s proximity to the Church Street main drag, together with its relative isolation from potentially quarrelsome residents, makes it ideal for smaller-scale concerts. Indeed, N16 Magazine is already in discussions with local musicians about hosting regular gigs in the building, beginning in the late autumn (details to follow).

If you would like to find out more, and discuss the possibility of leasing the church for a concert, exhibition or whatever, contact Parish Administrator Paula on stmarystokenewington@btinternet.com or phone her on 020 7254 6072.