Union Chapel - Sunday School Stories

It's been all go since our last update in December. After careful tender analysis carried out with the Architect (Roger Mears Architects) we appointed the lowest tenderer Bakers of Danbury as our main contractor and building works started on 15th January. Scaffolds have been erected to the areas above the Sunday School roof to carry out repairs to all areas above it. Our glazier specialist sub-contractor is currently on site and they have just removed the broken secondary glazing. The wheel window stained glass had a very thick layer of dirt trapped between the glass and the secondary glazing and this is currently removed, together with the redundant rusted metal frame. The stonemason have also started taking out damaged bricks to be renewed and this week. We will be back in touch soon with more news!

Thank you very much to NGM Surveys for the care and attention they showed our building. Our survey is complete - we thought you would like this interesting section image. Now we can start repairs. Scaffolding will be going up in January! We have been digging in the archive for more stories. In our next update we will entertain you with some really unusual activities that happened in the Sunday School in its Victorian heyday. We need a little time to digest them ourselves. Until then thank you again, we are getting ever closer to bringing this wonderful space back to you. Best wishes Union Chapel Team

Our piece of Plymouth Rock is a symbol of non-conformity. It is a piece that is said to be the last piece ever to be taken from its larger counterpart, and the first piece ever to cross the Atlantic Ocean. It is a piece that is as much a part of British history, as it is a part of American history. While it is technically just a rock, or a smaller piece of a larger rock, it has sent our Union Chapel researchers through a wonderfully interesting historical adventure. Mr. Allon was our minister here at Union Chapel from 1852, till his death in 1892. In 1870, Mr. Allon travelled to the United States and while there he received a Doctor of Divinity honorary degree from Yale University. Some letters, found in our very own archives, sent from a George A. Tewkesbury to our Mr. Henry Allon confirm Mr. Allon’s request for a piece of Plymouth Rock to be placed in the clock tower for all to see. George A. Tewkesbury was the pastor of the Church of the Pilgrimage in Plymouth, Massachusetts, and member of The Pilgrim Society. Our piece of Plymouth Rock was sent here from Boston, Massachusetts. However it was not big enough to feature in the tower so it sits above a beautifully carved doorway by the pulpit. We will explain why it wasn’t big enough in our next update. Meanwhile attached is an image of the surveyor’s drawings of the beautiful east window. We expect initial works to commence on site in January 2020.

Here we have a finished survey drawing of the Sunday School exterior. Every material is listed, along with information about the roof and how it slopes. The survey drawings are now with our architects and now the plans are being developed to RIBA Stage 2. Here’s a note for your diaries - we are holding a public consultation about the Sunday School on Sunday 29th September and Monday 30th September. We will have developed 3D drawings for you to view and we will create opportunities to talk to us at Union Chapel, and our design team, about your thoughts, ideas and concerns. We will then take on board the comments and update the design – this time to RIBA Stage 3. We will be sending out the times for each day next month. Once again thank you for your support. Best wishes Union Chapel Team

Now we are starting to see the laser survey coming together. Here is an image of what this early stage looks like. We think it could be exhibited at Tate Modern…. In a few weeks it will be detailed enough for the Architects to use. Happy scanning! Once again thank you for your support. Union Chapel

Two communications in one week! Sorry this is a long email.... We need to let you know what is happening next and timescale. When we started this appeal we were looking for around £500,000 to do a simple repair project to allow us to carry out our community plans. We said we would continue fundraising and since then we have been awarded a wonderful (bigger than expected) Round One pass from the National Lottery Heritage Fund for £960,400 - which means we can do more work and run more activities for longer. We have to match fund this amount over the next year so we are going to start the preparations and emergency roof works this year (as funded by you and the Mayor of London) and we will carry on fundraising and repairing the building to fully repair and open up the Sunday School with a projected grand opening in 2021. Our project will now cost about £1,800,000 in total, and this campaign has covered the basics to get started. What we'll deliver from now until March 2020: • Repair the failing external brickwork at high level • Prepare the building plans for the full scope of works • Carry out the surveys and necessary consent applications • Investigate scale of repairs needed • Erect the scaffolding and clear the roof for full repairs • Repair the external glass, tile and brick damage that is damaging the current roof. What we'll deliver from March 2020 to mid 2021 • Continue with full roof repairs • Carry out internal repairs including disabled access and toilet facilities • Insert discreet modern services (heating, electrics, drainage) • Repair the library and study booths and create a publicly accessible collection • Add refreshment areas and changing areas What we’ll deliver from mid 2021 on going • Run activities for families and school children with a particular strand of programming for local vulnerable families • Hold classes in paper conservation and book making • Provide training in public speaking and tour guiding for all ages • Introduce a training programme in cataloguing and digitising old documents and objects • Provide seating, lighting, desks, PA and other equipment needed for a range of uses • Allow free use of the space from local groups from migrant associations to primary schools Plus events, cinema screenings, yoga classes, poetry evenings, jazz nights, community drop ins - we are an open book right now! Despite further works being contingent on further funding (which we are confident of achieving) the most important work to save the Sunday School can now go ahead! Thank you as ever for your wonderful support, we will keep you updated with progress and invite you to viewings and open days along the way. Union Chapel Team

Our surveyors are in! They are drawing up the most detailed drawings of the Sunday School so our architects can draw up the plans to level of detail needed. Here is the account from our surveyors so far: "We used the traditional method of sketching and measuring all the areas we could get to, we then brought in two different surveying instruments. First we used a Total Station which is a optical instrument for observing angles and distances, we use this to fix the position of the building and our survey stations. Next we brought in a 3D Laser Scanner. This we set up on our survey stations and within the press of a button it rotates through 360 degrees and captures millions of points on everything it can see! This, once downloaded and processed will allow us to draw the detail that is required, whilst using the sketch and measurements taken at the beginning of the week. We also take a large amount of photographs so we can see clearly the layout of the features, and it helps our memory!" Have a wonderful week, Union Chapel Team

Happy very belated New Year! We have completed the paperwork and are ready to go. Your pledge will be collected around now, apologies if you have had multiple emails about this- behind the scenes this is the complicated bit! If you are confused about anything please do drop Frances a line - [email protected] We are so excited to be on this next step of the journey, and you made it possible. Very best Union Chapel