Union Chapel is a working church, live entertainment venue and charity drop-in centre for the homeless in

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ...

, London, England. Built in the late 19th century in the Gothic revival style, the church is Grade I-listed. It is at the north end of Upper Street, near Highbury Fields.

As a venue

Union Chapel hosts live music, film, spoken word and comedy events. There are around 250 events per year. It was voted London's Best Live Music Venue by readers of ''

Time Out Time-out, Time Out, or timeout may refer to: Time * Time-out (sport), in various sports, a break in play, called by a team * Television timeout, a break in sporting action so that a commercial break may be taken * Timeout (computing), an enginee ...

'' magazine in 2002, 2012 and again in 2014. It has a reputation for great acoustics, thanks to its design.

Margins Homelessness Project

The Margins Project, based in the Union Chapel, provides a range of support services to people facing homelessness, crisis and isolation. It operates Monday & Wednesday drop-in that provides advice around accessing benefits, support showers and laundry facilities. There is also a Supported Employment Programme which provides opportunity for people who have experienced homelessness and crisis to get back into work. Plus a Winter Night Shelter and support services such as access to therapy.

Union Chapel Church

Union Chapel is a Congregational church and part of the Congregational Federation. The church describes itself as "An open community exploring and revitalising the faith in challenging times" and meets every Sunday for worship. The church meets every Sunday at 11am and is committed building community and encouraging social justice. It also runs Culture Cafe 11am - 2pm each Wednesday to help tackle social isolation and provide a space for conversation and creativity.

History

The congregation first met in 1799 in a house in Highbury Grove as a union of evangelical Anglicans and non-conformists. Between 1805 and 1809 a new chapel was built by Henry Leroux on the present site in Compton Terrace, just off Upper Street, and the congregation moved to it in 1806. The new chapel was a two-storeyed building in the classical style with a central pediment, and with two houses on either side. A girls' school was founded in 1807 and a boys' founded in 1814. The Rev. Thomas Lewis, the father of the historian Samuel Lewis, was minister of the chapel from 1804-52, and lived next door at number 19. His successor, the Rev. Henry Allon, was minister from 1852 to 1892 and greatly increased the congregation as the local population grew. The building became "inconveniently crowded", and by the 1870s the Chapel had been enlarged and given a colonnaded

façade A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loan word from the French (), which means 'frontage' or ' face'. In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important aspect ...

. It was replaced by the current building in the Victorian gothic style of architecture, designed by James Cubitt of Loughton and built between 1874 and 1877, with further additions from 1877 to 1890. Its Gothic style is almost unique among non-conformist churches, and its plan is based on the church of

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in Torcello. It provided seating for 1,700 worshippers, and a Sunday School Hall (currently

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 I ...

) for 1,000 children. Two Liberal prime ministers,

William Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...

and H. H. Asquith, were at different times members of the congregation. The solid tower was completed in 1889. The chapel was used for a major scene in the 1982 film, '' Who Dares Wins''. Since 1982 and facing demolition the charity Friends of Union Chapel has helped conserve the buildings. The charity Union Chapel Project established in 1991 organises activities including gigs and events to help raise money for the building and open it up. Behind the church is the large Sunday School, built on the Akron Plan.

Ministers

* Thomas Lewis 1804–1852 * Henry Allon 1844–1892 * Hardy Harwood 1891–1914 * Charles James Barry MA (Cantab) ? * Ronald Taylor 1940–1980 * Gareth Trevor Jones 1981–1986 * Janet Wootton 1987–? * Karen Stallard 2010–2018 * Vaughan Jones 2017–present

Organ

The Organ at Union Chapel was designed and built specially for the size and acoustics of the new Chapel building in 1877 by master organ builder Henry "Father" Willis. Neither James Cubitt, the architect of the Chapel, nor Rev Henry Allon, the minister at the time, wanted the congregation to be distracted by the sight of an organ or organist: they wanted the music itself to be the focus during worship. So the organ is deliberately hidden away behind ornate screens under the rose window, which itself actually hints at the organ's importance, with its depiction of eight angels all playing different musical instruments. It is one of just two organs left in the United Kingdom, and the only one in England, with a fully working original hydraulic (water powered) blowing system, which can be used as an alternative to the electric blowers. The organ was restored in 1946 by Monk & Gunther; and by Harrison & Harrison in 2013.

Organists

* John Henry Gauntlett 1852–1861 * Ebenezer Prout 1861–1873 * Fountain Meen 1880–1909 *John Hooker 1973–2002 *Claire M Singer 2012–present

Organ ''Re''framed

Organ ''Re''framed, launched in 2016, is an annual music festival at Union Chapel with an experimental approach to the use of the organ. It is curated by composer and Music Director of the organ at Union Chapel, Claire M. Singer. Partners include London Contemporary Orchestra and Spitfire Audio. Commissions have included work from

Éliane Radigue Éliane Radigue (born January 24, 1932) is a French electronic music composer. She began working in the 1950s and her first compositions were presented in the late 1960s. Until 2000 her work was almost exclusively created with the ARP 2500 modula ...

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, Hildur Guðnadóttir, Adam Wiltzie, Phil Niblock, Darkstar,

Philip Jeck Philip Jeck (1952 – 25 March 2022) was an English composer and multimedia artist. His compositions were noted for utilising antique turntables and vinyl records, along with looping devices and both analogue and digital effects. Initially com ...

, Sarah Davachi, and Mark Fell.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Music venues in London Churches in the London Borough of Islington Grade I listed churches in London Chapels in London 1799 establishments in England Buildings and structures in Islington