It was obvious: St. Paul’s Church in East End London had to be demolished. After all, the building was totally deteriorated and there were not enough churchgoers to justify a thorough refurbishment. However, the church has not been demolished. The East Enders had a better idea: the abandoned church was transformed into a lively community centre. The Bow District in the East End is a low-income area, but the investments in the new community centre were huge. Today St. Paul’s is an architectural tour de force, buzzing with activities, and with ample space for the growing number of churchgoers to worship. With an art gallery, a fitness centre and the possibility to undertake lots of activities, St. Paul’s Church is becoming the centre of Bow.

Philippa Boardman is the vicar. 'Actually the project brings us back to the function that the church used to have: in the centre of society. In the old days churches were the centre of the community where everyone gathered. In the course of time this function got lost as a result of the industrial revolution and urbanisation. Churches became large buildings that were only visited on Sundays. A project as 'A new heart for Bow' makes it possible to go back to the past in a modern way.'

When Philippa Boardman became vicar in Bow about nine years ago, she moved into the vicarage near the deteriorated church. The demolition of the church was planned in order to build houses, but a number of parishioners were against this. They gathered signatures against the demolition and held a jumble sale every Saturday for six years to raise money for the church. Joan Khudayor, initiator of those jumble sales is in the church with her mother and daughter to make a reservation for her daughter Sarah's birthday party. 'Every Saturday we came to the church and dragged out tables to sell things, no matter how cold it was. We could not stand in the church because threatened to collapse.' When the vicar saw how people from the neighbourhood were affected by the intended demolition, she decided to try and save the building. Not only as a church, but as a community centre for the neighbourhood..

Residents co-owners of project
From that moment on plans were made by churchgoers, the vicar and residents. It was clear that everbody thought that the church should be a meeting place for everyone in Bow. St. Paul's should offer hospitality to lonely elderly people, the increasing group of foreigners, the bored young people.
Vicar Philippa Boardman: 'The plan grew during the jumble sales. On this market we asked lots of people what they really wanted in their neighbourhood. A project group was composed from a increasingly enthusiastic group of residents, with people that really wanted to help. By this approach everyone felt owner of the project. St. Paul's is everyone's, it has become the new heart for Bow.'

From idea to execution
Vicar Philippa Boardman: 'When the residents and ourselves had agreed on what should become of the church, we went looking for partners to help us carry out the ideas. We looked for an organisation for each function. And with all those organisations we drew up a programme of requirements for the transformation. The requirements were extensive for instance, people wanted the fitness room to be suitable for disabled persons. With the enormous list of desires we went to an architectural firm, Matthew Lloyds Architects.'

Mr Alex Sherrat, the project architect: 'A lot of requirements and little money; that was the starting point. Fortunately, our agency has a lot of experience with social projects. We know they take a long time, therefore we commit ourselves to such projects for a longer time. We keep in close touch with the final users of the building. During such a process ideas might change, but we take that into account. We try to be as flexible as possible.' In the end it was not just a transformation. St. Paul's has become an architectural tour de force that attracts attention from everywhere. 'Actually we have placed the new functions of the church as separate elements in the building. That is an unusual approach, but the owner, English Heritage, approved the rather drastic changes. Normally many stringent requirements have to be met, because the church is a listed heritage building.'

After six years of preparation the whole conversion took no more than a year. About six months ago the church opened up in its new form.

Thousands of things to do
You can still pray here, but going to the church in Bow also means making music, paint, fitness, quit smoking, have a drink. In short, St. Paul's has unrecognisably changed.

Charlotte Grosvenor is one of the two employees of the new St. Paul's. She organises activities and applies for subsidies. The national Health Department is an important party that grants subsidies for the project. 'Logically, we have become a key role player in caring for the physical and mental health of the people in this neighbourhood. The fitness room has not yet been opened, but it already attracts a lot of interest. The karate lessons for children are already quite popular. The quit smoking programme is also very popular, as is the weight loss programme of the Weight Watchers. Even the lonesome people come to the centre. Bow has many lonely elderly people, most of them are men. They found it hard to make contact, but our approach won them over. Once a week they meet here and a speaker will come or we host an activity. In this way we offer them a leg up to a healthy social life.'

The art gallery is used for 'playing to the music' - a programme for toddlers and their mothers, for expositions of artists from the neighbourhood and you can learn to paint yourself. The opening is somewhat delayed, but there will also be a café in the church. A church with a café is very unusual, but the café of St. Paul's will probably be the only café in the world where advice is given on healthy food and where breakfast is made for the children of the adjacent school. Vicar Philippa Boardman: 'All these are the initiatives of the people themselves and probably the best part of it is that the whole neighbourhood is co-operating.'

Effect on the neighbourhood
Seven years have past since the idea first came about and at least fourteen subsidy schemes have been successfully applied for. The deserted and dilapidated church is now a busy architectural work of art. Everyone is enthusiastic, even wildly enthusiastic. But what is the effect on the neighbourhood?

Marian Williams, councillor of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets: 'It is hard to say; the church has only been open for six months, but the facilities are used a lot already. I think that the project will help to build a community in Bow again. However, it is still hard to reach certain groups, such as young people and Muslims.' Muslim women have already organised two henna parties in the church and during the summertime a lot of activities were organised for the young people. Philippa Boardman: 'It works well. I saw young people in the church instead of breaking into my house.' The church services also seem to profit from the visitors: the vicar watched the number of churchgoers increase during the past few months.

ReUrbA partner
The church is a 'partner' in the ReUrbA² project, an Interreg IIIB programme. On the one hand the church receives subsidy through this programme, on the other hand St. Paul's brings its own experiences into the ReUrbA project. Philippa Boardman: 'In this way others can learn from our experiences.' The St. Paul's project has entered a new stage and can use some support. 'Now that the building has been completed, the challenge is to keep it financially sound. We would like to learn more about financing, business planning and marketing from other ReUrbA partners.' The success of the St. Paul's transformation proves infectious. About once a week people ask for the key to their success. 'The most import aspect is that the intended users have been involved in the process from the beginning. In this way you prevent money being spent on things no one wants.'

Philippa Boardman also urges a businesslike approach: 'Hire someone who applies for subsidies. This takes up a lot of time and is a specific expertise. Also enter into contracts with the organisations you will work with to make it more than just a good intention.'

But the most important thing, they have learned in Bow, is according to Philippa Boardman: 'If anybody declares that something is not possible, do not believe him!'

St. Paul's site
The architect's site