Sunday School Stories
Coming soon;
- Music Lovers Pre-Gig Tours
- Free tour guide training skills to younger generations
- Protest Posters workshops to encourage an equitable and better world for everyone
- Podcast, food events, Your Story Festival of Social Change, and more!
Whether you love Union Chapel for its stunning space or acoustics, its rich history of social justice, its stunning Grade I and II* listed architecture or you love it for its music, participatory arts or its work with people at risk of crisis or homelessness, or dedication of inclusion to inviting all to worship; the Sunday School Stories Project encapsulates Union Chapel's long-standing legacy and active work championing arts, heritage, and socail justice.
Why?
The Sunday School Hall was once a space used by Victorian school local children who couldn’t afford education and is one of only a few remaining Akron plan halls. Unfortunately, the Sunday School building fell into disrepair and without urgent intervention, it would face further dilapidation. Through this project, the unique architecture and heritage of the building will be preserved and brought back to life for the community to use.
Hidden Archive
Most people don’t know that we house an archive of records, books, artefacts and hidden gems from our last 200 years and local London history. For the first time, this untapped treasure trove of stories will be featured publicly.
It tells the tales of Nonconformist Christians and their 100-year journey from persecuted minority to being part of the establishment and of Union Chapel’s unique history as one of the UK’s most respected live venues.
Sunday School Stories Project will transform the currently decaying, inaccessible collection into a restored and fully catalogued archive for the first time inviting the community to discover the everyday life at Union Chapel with insights into the lives of real local people and their ambitions for a better world.
How can I get involved?
Community is at the heart of this project, whether as a volunteer to help discover lost history, by taking part in a heritage celebration event, or through participatory arts. The people of Islington have been integral to the history of Union Chapel and will continue to be so to bring the Sunday School back to life.
You can expect;
- Heritage tours and talks
- Heritage building taster workshops with traditional materials and maintenance
- Your Story Festival of Change made with & by for our communities including inspirational speech karaoke, digital memory bank, performance poetry, heritage food events, debates, and social leadership workshops
- Immersive musical adventures for families with Mrs H and the Singalong Band plus Highbury Opera Theatre’s young performers re-imagining scores in our archive
- And so much more
How?
Currently on the Heritage at Risk register we have been working hard to raise funds to undertake some essential repair work, plus refurbish and update the space, to bring it back into another vibrant lively community space – for meetings, activities, workshops and an up close and personal music and arts programme, a perfectly intimate space for spoken word, acoustic sets and workshops; and a welcoming space for our local communities to thrive and grow. It will be a much more welcoming space, with a new improved accessibility and a place for everyone to share, learn, thrive and simply have fun. From pre-gig heritage tours, stone masonry to immersive performances, acoustic music and our new Your Story Festival, we hope you’re excited as we are!
This will all be made possible thanks to support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund and National Lottery Players, as well as City Bridge Foundation, The Clothworkers' Foundation, Garfield Weston Foundation, The Wolfson Foundation, Foyle Foundation, Benefact Trust, National Churches Trust, Friends of Union Chapel, The Rose Foundation, Islington Archaelogy & History Society, Union Chapel Members, and individual supporters, with thanks to the Mayor of London.
Stuart McLeod, Director England - London & South at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said:
“We are delighted to support Union Chapel with their Sunday School Stories project. The restoration of the building for the community and creation of an amazing legacy through the archive is a fitting way to celebrate their 30th anniversary as a music venue.
The National Lottery Heritage Fund is the UK’s largest investors in heritage. Now more than ever, investing in heritage is a top priority for us, particularly as a result of the pandemic. Thanks to National Lottery players, we can invest in projects such as this where it improves people’s lives and makes communities better places to live.”
