Special Hard Hat Tours for Heritage Open Day

Saturday 11 September   10:30am - 3.00pm

Join us for a hard hat tour of the Church and find out more about the world-class restoration of this iconic Sheppey landmark, as the building is restored to its former Georgian splendour as a business enterprise centre for young people.

Trustee’s Amicia de Moubray and Chris Foulds inside the church.

Trustee’s Amicia de Moubray and Chris Foulds inside the church.

Visitors to our open day will be able to go inside the building with representatives from the Trust and Coniston Ltd our principal contractors. You will be able to see the building taking shape, find out more about the meticulous heritage restoration techniques, the reinstated parapet and the impressive construction solutions needed for a building of this scale as well as viewing artefacts discovered during the renovation. Internally we will be preserving what is left of the 1881 interior including the cast-iron columns and combining this with simple modern finishes. The scheme has been designed by the award-winning team of Hugh Broughton Architects working with conservation specialists Martin Ashley Architects.

An on-site scannable QR code for your phone will bring to life plans for the interior of the building.

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The Grade II* listed church was built in 1829 and was badly damaged by fire in both 1881 and 2001. It is an outstanding example of Palladian architecture designed by George Ledwell Taylor. The restored building will house an exciting business start-up centre for young entrepreneurs, and will also display sections of the Great Dockyard Model as well as offering a café, meeting and event spaces, due to open in Autumn 2022.

The £7.98 million project has been made possible thanks to funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, matched with grants from some of the UK’s leading philanthropic trusts, foundations and individuals.

No booking required - Max 15 people per tour which lasts around 30 mins. You can just turn up for a tour that is on a first come first served basis and will run approximately every half hour from 10:30 - 15:00.

Important Access & Safety Information

The Church is a live construction site and as such access is via uneven ground and includes a few temporary scaffold steps. Hard hats and hi-vis will be provided for all our visitors and visitors must wear enclosed sensible footwear (people in sandals etc will not be allowed on-site). The site can be muddy if it has rained. We regret access for wheelchair users or pushchairs is currently difficult. Once complete the building will be fully accessible. Accompanied children are welcome but must remain with an adult at all times for their safety. Tour participants must remain with the tour leader.

COVID-19 : This event will run in line with local & national government guidelines at the time. Hand sanitiser will be available for use on arrival. Tours will be in groups. This is a large site which makes social distancing easy.

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