The Tabernacle is a

Grade II-listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

building in Powis Square,

Notting Hill Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a cosmopolitan and multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting Hill Carnival and Portobello Road M ...

, west

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England, built in 1887 as a church. The building boasts a curved Romanesque façade of red brick and

terracotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based ceramic glaze, unglazed or glazed ceramic where the pottery firing, fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, a ...

, and two towers with

broach spire A broach spire is a type of spire (tall pyramidal structure), which usually sits atop a tower or turret of a church. It starts on a square base and is carried up to a tapering octagonal spire by means of triangular faces. File:Leicester Cathedral ...

s on either side. Today the Tabernacle serves as a cultural arts and entertainment venue, including a theatre, meeting rooms, music studio, art gallery, bar and kitchen, conservatory and a garden courtyard.

History

Originally known as The Talbot Tabernacle (in the 1850s the freehold of nearby Portobello Farm was still owned by the Talbot family), the Tabernacle was founded as an

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

in 1869 by the former barrister

Gordon Forlong Gordon Forlong (14 February 1819 – 30 August 1908) was a Scottish and New Zealand evangelism, evangelist. He was also a lawyer, businessman, and farmer. Early life Born in Pollok Castle, Renfrewshire, Scotland, on 14 February 1819, the son of ...

1819–1908, in order to serve as a "non-sectarian Church of Christ". Forlong had been a preacher at the Victoria Hall in Archer Street, and was soon able to raise the capital to build a temporary iron church, with a capacity of around 1,000 people. The iron church was larger than most similar buildings in Kensington, and had an end gallery.(ref. 146) The present building was constructed in 1887 during the ministry of Frank Henry White, and was designed by architects

Habershon and Fawckner Habershon & Fawckner or Habershon, Pite & Fawckner was a British architectural practice active in England and Wales from the 1860s, particularly in Cardiff and the South Wales area. They had had offices in London, Cardiff and Newport, designing ...

. In the 1970s The Tabernacle became a community arts centre, leased on a

peppercorn rent In legal parlance, a peppercorn is a metaphor for a very small cash payment or other nominal consideration, used to satisfy the requirements for the creation of a legal contract. It is featured in ''Chappell & Co Ltd v Nestle Co Ltd'' (960AC 87) ...

from Kensington and Chelsea Council by a management committee made up of local enthusiasts. The committee hired the Tabernacle's only complete (small) hall to local community groups to raise funds for further development of the building and to run basic services, for example employing a youth worker to coordinate programmes for the children of local residents in what was at the time an extremely disadvantaged neighbourhood. The rival Carnival Arts Committee and Carnival Development Committee both made use of the venue each year in the weeks leading up to the

Notting Hill Carnival The Notting Hill Carnival is an annual Caribbean festival event that has taken place in London since 1966

featuring bands such as the Mangrove steel band. Despite the injection of considerable energy and goodwill by a wide range of local groups, the Tabernacle had a somewhat hand-to-mouth existence, and in the late 1970s the main hall was still undeveloped, stripped of its seating and not in daily use. During the 1990s The

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

and

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...

rehearsed at the Tabernacle."The Tabernacle, the heart of London’s pop culture… and Christmas panto"
Chic Londres. In 1998, the Tabernacle reopened after a £4 million refurbishment, featuring a new hall, studios, art gallery and bar/restaurant. In 2016, the British Palestinian artist

Reem Kelani Reem Kelani (born 1963) is a British Arabs, British Palestinian musician, born in Manchester, England. Initially influenced by the jazz music her father played on his record player, her interest in Palestinian music was sparked by the music at ...

released a double album of songs entitled ''Live at the Tabernacle'' and based on a live recording of a concert she gave in 2012 as part of

Kensington and Chelsea London Borough Council Kensington and Chelsea London Borough Council is the local authority for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. Kensington and Chel ...

Nour Festival of Arabic Arts

The Tabernacle today

The Tabernacle is no longer a place of worship, but continues to serve the secular needs of the local community. The Carnival Village Trust and Tabernacle W11''thetabernaclew11.com''
/ref> runs The Tabernacle on behalf of the

Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea is an Inner London borough with royal status. It is the smallest borough in London and the second smallest district in England; it is one of the most densely populated administrative regions in the ...

References

Barbara Denny, ''Notting Hill and Holland Park Past'', Historical Publications, 1993.

Notes

External links

*
Photo of the Talbot Tabernacle at British History Online
Retrieved 20 July 2010
Talbot Tabernacle at British History Online
Retrieved 20 July 2010 {{Churches in Kensington and Chelsea Grade II listed churches in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Buildings and structures in Notting Hill Arts centres in London Former churches in London