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St Pancras Old Church - structural repair and full refurbishment

Camden

Project Details

£0.5m to £0.99M

Listed Building - Grade II*, Within a Conservation Area

Practice

ARTArchitects Ltd

ARTArchitects Ltd , Unit 37, Spectrum House , 32-34 Gordon House Road , LONDON , NW5 1LP

St Pancras Old Church has been affected by structural issues since at least the 19th century, and most likely long before this. There are various factors that may contribute to this, including numerous alterations to the building over many centuries, tens of thousands of burials in the churchyard (until 1854), the proximity of large trees within St Pancras Gardens, and widespread development of surrounding land. In 2020 a project was carried out to stabilise the south wall of the Nave and Chancel in the vicinity of the Platt Memorial; in 2023 a second phase of works was carried out to reduce movement in the east and north walls of the Chancel, and at the west end of the Nave. These works are designed to reduce localised differential movement of the structure, to secure monuments fixed to these walls, and to facilitate the next phase of enhancement of the Church interior. Following completion of works to address the structural defects, the next phase of interior enhancement could begin. This involved a comprehensive refurbishment of the building interior: “to develop the liturgical space, completely restoring this beautiful church and monuments to make it an excellent site for the Divine Worship and for artistic works.” The project involved complete redecoration of the worship space; re-finishing of the woodblock flooring; conservation repairs, and cleaning of monuments and artworks, including the Chancel and Walsingham Chapel reredoses; cleaning of the leaded light windows; and removal of redundant building services. The completed scheme creates a bright, clean interior, with renewed focus on the conserved Chancel reredos at the east end. Painting the exposed rubblework to the north wall helps to create visual continuity within the interior, whilst the new gilded star ceilings above the East Window and in the Walsingham Chapel enhance the setting.