My Barnsbury: Past, Present, Future
St. Andrew’s, Thornhill Square is opening a new chapter in the life of the church, with exciting plans to:
Repair the church building’s exterior, safeguarding it for generations to come
Update and adapt the interior space, making it more accessible and flexible for our local residents
Create more opportunities to serve and support our amazing community through engagement and support activities
St. Andrew’s is a Neo-Gothic style, Grade II listed, church with surrounding gardens. It is set within an impressive urban landscape, Thornhill Square, the largest, best-preserved early Victorian square in the London Borough of Islington. It was consecrated in 1854 and is Grade II listed. St. Andrew’s is a significant community and heritage asset. It is on the Heritage at Risk Register (Condition Very Bad, Priority A) and is in urgent need of repair.
Situated in a highly diverse part of Islington, the building has become a vital anchor point for the local community – a place of hope, safety and care, open to all, that enables people of all ages and backgrounds to come together to reflect, connect, and deliver social good. Our recent community survey saw local people describe St. Andrew’s as a ‘haven’, ‘shelter’, ‘family’ and ‘home’.
Through a range of initiatives, each year we welcome 15,000 people to the church and engage a further 3,000 online and offsite. We have a particular focus on children, young people and families, with programmes including a weekly ‘stay and play’ for under 5s, an active youth group, and regular clothes and toy swaps.
Unfortunately, St. Andrew’s has significant age-related structural damage, is badly affected by stone decay and has substantial structural and subsistence issues. Nearby tree roots, softening and desiccation of the soil around the church has caused significant cracking to the North transept, cracking in and around the East Window and cracking to the north façade of the North Aisle. There have been issues with falling stone in recent years – the Church was temporarily closed in 2019 due to falling stone and the spire remains netted off. Without urgent intervention there is a real risk that the building will become unsafe for public use and that potentially the heritage could be lost from community use forever.
In light of this, we are recruiting for the following roles to take a lead in the ‘My Barnsbury: Past, Present, Future’ project and to ensure that this significant community asset continues to stay open:
For more information, please contact Rachel Walker at admin@standrewsthornhillsquare.org.uk.