The nearly 150-year-old and gloriously gothic Union Chapel will be resuming guided tours of the building for the first time since the pandemic stopped them.
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Union Chapel opened as a church in 1877 to serve a growing congregation. Although it is still a functioning church, it is probably better known to far more people as an eclectic music and entertainment venue.
The building was nearly demolished in the 1980s but was saved and opened up as both a church and music venue — although in those early days, while regulations said they had enough loos for a church, there weren’t enough for an entertainment venue.
The penitent were presumed to pee less often than the concertgoers.
A bureaucratic fudge was to hold a prayer prior to concerts so they qualified as a church event.
These days, the building is still being restored, and in 2022, they secured a £1 million grant towards the works.
An architectural gem in Islington, London, built in 1875-77 and designed by James Cubitt, a leading Victorian nonconformist architect, Union Chapel is one of the best examples of a Neo-Gothic Victorian congregational church in England, often compared to a small cathedral in its scale.
Tours will take place on the first Wednesday of every month at midday throughout 2024 and will be led by Islington Guided Walks.
Tickets will go on sale tomorrow (31st Jan) from here and will cost £16.88 per person.
Union Chapel is about a 10-minute walk from Highbury & Islington station, served by the Victoria line, London Overground and Northern City trains.
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