Friends of Union Chapel
The Friends of Union Chapel help restore and preserve Union Chapel and organise a variety of activities in the building
Founded in 1981 in response to the attempt to demolish Union Chapel, we have been working ever since to help preserve this Grade 1 and Grade 2* listed building and welcome new members to join us in
- building our community of heritage and architecture lovers
- archiving the last 200+ years of artifacts and ephemera of the radical Union Chapel Church and community work alongside its past 30+ years as a live venue and social justice charity
- being hands-on for conservation of the historic buildings' traditional materials, gardens, and livelihood
Who We Are
The Friends are an independent, non-religious registered charity made up of a group of enthusiastic volunteers. Our members come from all sorts of backgrounds – many are local residents and all are lovers of heritage and architecture who work together to support the chapel.
What We Do
Workdays We hold working sessions throughout the year with the current focus being on Union Chapel’s collection of archive documents and ephemera.
Library & Archive Work The Friend’s Archive Group & Library Group is working towards cataloguing the Chapel’s extensive collection of papers, books and ephemera. We are aiming to find a sustainable future for this important archive as part of the Sunday School Stories Project.
For more details, contact: [email protected]
Anyone can become a Friend of Union Chapel, we'd love for you to join us
Receive regular newsletters, invitations to events of special interest and join our sessions
Annual subscription: £20 adult | £10 concessions | £35 Corporate/Family
Latest News
July 2023
The Gardening Group, a collaborative effort between members of the Friends, Union Chapel Church, and Union Chapel Project, have made huge progress in the maintenance and tidy of the courtyard and staff garden.
More than 80 bags of green waste, general waste and wooden logs were cleared out, bagged up, and removed or donated. This has improved accessibility to the outside areas, and reduced some dampness in the toilet block wall.
The Friends have also re-discovered a climbing rose and re-potted specific plants, all of which appear to be thriving with the recent warm, sunny weather, and regular watering. The plants will continue to provide more colour in the Staff Garden and public Courtyard over the coming months.
Autumn 2022
Friends and Union Chapel Project come together to see some of the latest building repairs and maintenance work.
Cleaning trials of pew timber and Pulpit stone by specialist conservators, keeping up the maintenance of these traditional materials for all.
The collaborative Gardening Group was formed in April 2022, combining the efforts of members of the Church, Union Chapel Project, and the Friends. Left picture shows the hard work taking place in our courtyard, with chillies, roses, and other potted plants flourishing.
Read full Autumn 2022 Newsletter here
August 2022 - Archive Working Group
Leafing through the libraries in our Sunday School Hall to research and transcribe various history books, biographies, scrapbooks, personal notes, and articles that tell Union Chapel's story.
Read full August 2022 Archive Working Group Report here
Spring 2022
Archive Working Group cross referencing and transcribing the beautiful documents from Union Chapel's history.
Read full February 2022 Archive Working Group Report here
Read full Spring 2022 Newsletter here
Governance
Read the 2021-2022 Annual Report and AGM Minutes here
Committee 2022–2023
Chair - Richard Wallington
Secretary - Juliet Johnson
Treasurer - Jennifer Sharpley
George Allan, Vanessa Easlea, Kathryn Dixon, Andrew Gardner, and Rev Vaughan Jones (ex officio).
Registered Charity No. 288545
Contact us: [email protected]
Fundraising & Annual Subscriptions
The Friends' support the restoration of the buiding and its use by the community, and many of the interests of the Friends are those of the UCP.
Donate and Pay Subscriptions Online
Banking Details:
Friends of Union Chapel
Islington Branch, 19-20 Upper Street, N1 0PL
Sort Code: 30-94-21 | Account Number: 01290961
Alternatively send a cheque made payable to:
Friends of Union Chapel c/o Union Chapel Office, 19b Compton Terrace, Islington N1 2UN.