St Mary’s Old Church
By Sarah Robson
For most readers, the imposing Gilbert Scott Church, with its 250-foot steeple, situated on the south side of Church Street, is a familiar sight.
It dwarfs the ‘old church’ opposite, which is a little gem of Tudor origin and our heritage from the rural village of Stoke Newington of 1563. When it was built, this beautiful church would have been at the heart of village life. Now used largely only on Sundays, by a relatively small congregation, the people of St Mary’s are keen to see this church become a vibrant and valued community facility.
St Mary’s is also blessed with other buildings: the Community Centre in Defoe road and the New Church Rooms, located behind the large church. Both facilities are available for hire and well used by local groups. The Community Centre provides a home to activities ranging from Tai Chi, Yoga and dance classes to Brownies, Mother and Toddler groups, and once a week between 1 January and 31 March the Hackney Winter Night Shelter. The local Quakers also hold their meetings there. The New Church Rooms lend themselves to more sedate activities including training, quiet days, meetings of local groups and the North London Progressive Jewish Community.
It is in this context that the people of St Mary’s are considering turning the old church into a multi-use venue, including Sunday worship. Since the interview with the rector in issue 27 of N16, the congregation have employed a local architect to develop a design for the building. The plans involve refurbishing the old church – removing the 1950s north aisle built following war damage, restoring the former Tudor glory of the south aisle and retaining items of historical interest, and replacing the north aisle with a contemporary extension to cover the original footprint of the church, about twice the size of the present north aisle. The current plans allow for a flexible multi-purpose space with a kitchen, an office and a flat. The idea is to make the facility as self-financing as possible. The plans and a model were on view during the London Open House weekend in September and can still be seen at the back of the big church. More details can also be found on the St Mary’s website: www.stmaryn16.org
The Open House weekend began a process of consultation with local residents that runs until Christmas. Interviews have taken place with many community groups, who use St Mary’s facilities and with other local stakeholders. An idea that is gaining momentum is for St Mary’s Old Church to become a Community Arts Facility. The old church is already popular with local music groups for its excellent acoustics, and has been used for concerts ranging from the Summer ‘early music’ series to the N16 music Fringe weekend. St Mary’s would like to know whether readers of N16 would use such a facility and what you think Stoke Newington needs. If you’re a member of a local group who has neither been interviewed nor received a stakeholder questionnaire, or you are a local resident keen to make your views known, please download a questionnaire from the website or contact the Parish Office on 7254 6072 / stmarystokenewington@btinternet.com
The Old Church Project will be managed by a steering group including representatives of the congregation and the wider community. Information received from the consultation process will be used to inform the fundraising process which will begin in the Spring. N16 will bring you more news of this exciting project in future editions. |
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