Holy Trinity Church in Cloudesley Square, until recently used by the Celestial Church of Christ, has been in need of major restoration for many years.  Now that the London Diocese has taken back possession of the church, a programme of repairs and improvement has begun which will hopefully restore the church to its former glory, assuming funding can be secured.  This section of the website is for residents affected by or with an interest in this topic.

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We've reported before on our now-famous Guardians at Holy Trinity - Ed Watts and Olivia Scarlett.  Sadly, Ed and Olivia moved out of the church in June but we've kept in touch and we can report they have married, are expecting a baby, and Ed continues to receive further accolades for his film work - an Emmy and an RTS award for Best Director.  Plus the Evening Standard published a three page spread entitled "Guardian Angels" this Wednesday 25 November 2020 which features these great photos in the church.  Ed is proudly holding what is, I think, his BAFTA award.  As you can see, the church is decorated throughout in "Celestial Blue" and the living quarters really aren't that bad at all!  You can read the whole article here.

The results of the Tales From the Crypt research, described in earlier posts below, can now be experienced in three forms - and they're all free!  See the attached flyer for details.

Exhibition

The exhibition has re-opened in the church itself and is open every Saturday from 11.00 to 2.00 for the next couple of months.  You can see the panels previously only available on the Diocese website as well as artwork created by pupils from the Bridge School.  This is also an opportunity to see inside the newly repaired south aisle (the new roof is magnificent but the rest of the interior needs a lick of paint!).

The Islington Gazette has done a nice write-up about the exhibition, here: 

https://www.islingtongazette.co.uk/news/heritage/cloudesley-centre-tales-from-the-crypt-exhibition-1-6858659

Evening Talks

Three evening Zoom talks are being hosted by the Islington Society.  The first, on the history of the church building, by Rebecca Preston, has already taken place, but a recording is available here:  

https://zoom.us/rec/share/rHR0P98yBGsI6a0Tnn56_4UmJFZeEQA5e98qupTf7QODdWsML5OKh-BOGyXr9oMS.JkdQ6Q4bfBhy-PPL

Access Passcode: AU=1akE9

I highly recommend it - Rebecca has brought her Chronology of Holy Trinity Church to life with a great story and many new images.

Next up will be Susan Skedd on October 21 with a talk about the stories unearthed by researching the lives of residents buried in the church crypt, 1820-1855.  Having contributed to the research, I'll definitely be attending that!  And finally we have Rosie Fraser and Laura Moffat on November 26 with "Delivering a Grant-Funded Project".

Guided Walks

Islington Guided Walks have developed long and short versions of walks around the Cloudesley Estate and neighbouring areas inspired by the crypt research.  I went on the long version yesterday and it was marvellous!  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and her colleagues have used the stories of residents buried in the crypt to create a really insightful and compelling narrative about what life was like in the early days of the Cloudesley Estate.  The flyer gives details of dates and how to book.  But you'll need to move fast - numbers are limited by Covid restrictions and the first few walks are already booked up!

 A children's e-book entitled The Cats of Cloudesley Square has appeared on the internet, written by someone called Tony Burke and illustrated by his brother David.  Check it out - it's a charming poem, beautifully illustrated, about the stray cats who used to live in the churchyard (they seem to have gone now) who successfully fight a property developer who wants to demolish the church.  But a caveat is in order.  This is fiction kids!  The evil property developer Hugo de Beauvoir is made up and there never was, is, or as far as we know, ever will be a plan to knock down the church and replace it with  luxury flats!  Indeed, the church is currently being lovingly restored by the London Diocese, as we report in the blog below.

Now that restoration work on the church has actually started, we've created a Church Restoration "Blog" to keep you updated on progress.

The Tales From the Crypt Exhibition mentioned in the earlier post, below, was only on for one day then had to be cancelled because of Coronavirus.  But don't despair, because the panels from the exhibition have now been published on the Diocese website, here.  Do take a look - it's a great story, beautifully illustrated.  Several Cloudesley Association members worked as volunteers on the project, led by our guide and mentor, Susan Skedd (here's Susan's Linked-In entry, complete with nice photo).  Here's a picture of most of us at Highgate cemetery, tracking down clues.  The picture serves as a volunteers' Roll of Honour - pictured, left to right are:

• Nick Brealey

• Derrick Chivers

• (Highgate Guide - Peter - great value!)

• Nick Collin

• Sian Whitaker

• Kieran Garvey

• Virginia Low

• Jenny Tatton

Not Shown:

• Alison Pollard

• Chris Wells

• Patricia Wenz

The Diocese website also has links to another strand of the research carried out by Rebecca Preston which is also well worth checking out.  Rebecca researched the Chronology of Holy Trinity Church, together with a Summary Timeline 1811-1980.  The latter is a litany of requests for funds to repair damage wrought by water, fire, lightning (1963!) and just the passage of time - twas ever thus!  Interestingly, Dove Brothers were involved in repairs and restoration on no less than 5 times starting in 1867.

Update.  The attached flyer gives details of forthcoming talks about the project by both Rebecca and Susan as well as Islington Walks inspired by our research.

 My neighbour Henrietta has unearthed this charming article about the Celestial Church of Christ (click to download) from the Sunday Correspondent of 1990.  As a fully signed up member of the "Middle-Class Intelligentsia" of the time I can confirm that I miss their cheerful and vibrant presence, especially during these strange times.  Just for completeness, here are the lyrics to "The Ratcatcher's Daughter of Islington" mentioned in the article.

The Diocese research project on Holy Trinity has now been running for almost a year and you can read about it on the Diocese website, here.  Several Association volunteers have been working on the "Tales from the Crypt" strand and our work will feature at an exhibition at the Islington Museum, 245 St John St (junction with Skinner St, below Finsbury Library).

Call for social history volunteers!  The Diocese have received funding for a project to research local Cloudesley history, focused initially on the parishioners of Holy Trinity buried in the crypt.  Download the press release here.  This exciting project will build on the work we have already started (read about that here).   Anyone wishing to volunteer to help with the research should contact the Diocese at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Church Commissioners Draft Scheme, March 2019

Diocese meeting at St Andrews, October 2018.  The Diocese presented plans for Holy Trinity Church at a well attended meeting held in St Andrews Church, Thornhill Square.  The minutes of the meeting are included in the Association's December 2018 Newsletter, here.

"Cloudesley Challenge" Newsletter.  The London Diocese has produced a newsletter setting out plans for the church restoration and asking for feedback from residents.  If you have views on the project, please complete the online survey at https://bit.ly/2Ocuf5d 

Holy Trinity.  A personal appreciation.

More History.  Extract from Parish Churches of London by Basil Clarke, Batsford, 1966.

Draft Letter of Support from the Association to the Diocese regarding the church renovation.  Please tell Amanda whether you support the Association sending this letter or not.

"Cloudesley Challenge" Questionnaire, March 2018.  Please fill this in if you wish to be involved in the church restoration project and return to Susan Speece at the Diocese

Update on the church, January 2018

A Brief History of Holy Trinity Church.

Church Restoration Action Plan (2015 - now out of date).  

Church Images

The East Window

More Windows

Reaching out to the Community

The Church Crypt

 Polling Day at the church