SUCCESSFUL GRANT BID FOR THE CHAPELS
We’re delighted that Brent Council has today announced its success in gaining over £30k in grants which will create a strategic plan for the conservation of the chapels in Paddington Old Cemetery and identify a sustainable and appropropriate future use that benefits the local area.
FoPOC contributed to Brent’s application and will be a partner in the project. Thanks are due to the Cemetery team at Brent, supported by London Historic Buildings Trust, for putting together the successful application, and to our local Councillors Steve Crabb and Anthony Molloy who have supported the project, along with Councillor Krupa Seth, Brent’s Cabinet member for Environment. Here is Brent’s press release about the grants:
Brent bags £34,800 grant funding to revive Victorian cemetery chapels
A pair of Victorian chapels, the centrepiece of the historic Paddington Old Cemetery, are set to be revived thanks to a £29,800 grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund along with £5,000 from the Pilgrim Trust. Over the next nine months, the project - A Future for Paddington Old Cemetery Chapels - will explore the history, condition, and local significance of the Cemetery’s Grade II listed Chapels, create a strategic plan for their conservation and identify opportunities for new uses.
The project is driven by the ambition to repair the buildings and give them a sustainable and appropriate new use that benefits the local area.
There will be many opportunities for the local community to get involved in shaping the Chapels future. More details will be shared in due course. A series of free public activities on the history and biodiversity of the Cemetery will also be on offer in the spring and summer of 2024.
The project will be led by the London Borough of Brent, working closely with the London Historic Buildings Trust, Richard Griffiths Architects and Friends of Paddington Old Cemetery.
Councillor Krupa Sheth, Brent’s Cabinet Member for Environment, Infrastructure and Climate Action, said: “The historic Chapels in Paddington Old Cemetery are a key part of the heritage of Kilburn and Queen’s Park. The funding brings us a huge step closer towards returning the chapels to community for use once again.”
Paddington Old Cemetery opened in 1855, making it one of the earliest public cemeteries to be built. The architect, Thomas Little, designed the Cemetery with a series of pathways in the shape of a horseshoe, which can still be seen today, with the gothic-style Chapels as the focal point. As well as its notable monuments, the Cemetery is the burial place for several historical and cultural figures, including the first captain of England’s football team; Holocaust survivors; Michael Bond, author and creator of Paddington Bear; a Muslim princess; an important Indian journalist; and numerous members of the Windrush Generation.