The Lavender Hill: Chapel and Community project aimed to identify sustainable solutions for the Lavender Hill Non-conformist chapel, addressing local needs and removing the chapel from Historic England’s Heritage-at-Risk register.

The Non-conformist Cemetery Chapel at Lavender Hill Cemetery in Enfield was added to Historic England’s Heritage at Risk register in 1991 and had been unoccupied and unused for funeral services for several decades. It now sits in a state pf poor repair and with an uncertain future.

The level of the building’s significance was assessed using Historic England’s four heritage values–evidential, historical, aesthetic, and communal–along with the ecological value of the site. The atmosphere within the chapel, which has remained largely unchanged for decades, was considered immensely valuable as evidence of past human activity. The atmosphere, patina and the understanding of societal functioning and rituals are fragile elements that a campaign of repairs to give the building a new use could potentially destroy. Striking the right balance between preserving the special significance of this time capsule and finding a compatible new use has proven to be a significant challenge.

PBA were appointed as the lead consultant on the design team and worked closely with the Enfield Council and the London Historic Building Trust to develop a scheme of community consultation and engagement events, and ultimately coordinated the business planning and survey results to find a suitable new use for the building. We also prepared a full programme of conditions surveys and reporting and worked with quantity surveyors, structural engineers, and MEP consultants to provide a costed and well considered list of repairs and proposal drawings ready for funding applications.