A crowd-funding campaign that overshot its target in east London has raised £31,000 towards saving the ‘hidden chapel’ at Bethnal Green’s Oxford House arts centre.
The centre in Derbyshire Street, next to Weavers Fields, attracted donations from 170 wellwishers, busting their target by £6,000. Permanent repairs are needed for the leaking roof and restoration.
The crowd-funding cash is being added to a £1.4m Heritage Lottery grant for renovations to the Grade II-listed arts centre used by 30 charities which also includes a new café, new lift and replanted roof garden.
But in the meantime, the wood-lined 1884 chapel on the top floor had become unusable because of the leaking roof, with buckets and plastic sheeting having to be used every day in a losing battle to keep it dry. Temporary repairs were just stop-gap measures.
The centre wants its Victorian ‘secret chapel’ opened to the public for decades as part of a heritage project later this year.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here