Paddington Old Cemetery Chapels, Brent

Team

London Historic Buildings Trust (Project Manager and Fundraiser)

Richard Griffiths Architects (Conservation Architect)

Focus Consultants (Business Planner)

Caroline Bourne (Community Consultant)

Project Costs

£42,612 (exc VAT)

Paddington Old Cemetery is an expansively designed cemetery which opened in 1855 making it one of the earliest civic cemeteries to be built following the 1852 Metropolitan Interment Act.

At the centre, sits the extensive chapels complex, which were designed as the focal point of the Victorian cemetery scheme. The chapel buildings have been long-term unoccupied. Minor repairs have been carried out, but they remain in need of significant repairs and modernisation in order to bring them into use.

In late 2023, LHBT engaged with the London Borough of Brent (site owner) to help identify a viable repair and reuse strategy.

LHBT scoped an Options Appraisal and community engagement project – ‘A Future for Paddington Old Cemetery Chapels‘ – and secured funding for its delivery from the London Borough of Brent, National Lottery Heritage Fund and Pilgrim Trust.

'A Future for Paddington Old Cemetery Chapels'

Over the course of 2024-25, the project explored the history, condition, and local significance of these Grade II listed Chapels, in order to help identify a strategic plan for their conservation and opportunities for new uses. The project was driven by the ambition to repair the buildings and give them a sustainable and appropriate new use that would benefit the local area.

The aims of the project were:

Find appropriate, sustainable short- and long-term solutions for Paddington Old Cemetery Chapels that respond to identified local need and remove the buildings from the Heritage at Risk Register.
Facilitate the establishment of a Steering Group with local and wider partners that is led by the Council with the interests of the heritage, Brent people and the local area at its heart.
Explore, understand, and champion Paddington Old Cemetery Chapels history, heritage, and significance, for the benefit of the heritage and local community.
Encourage and facilitate local community members to partake in the project’s activities and consultation processes.

The project was scoped and fundraised for by LHBT, on behalf of the London Borough of Brent. The project was then overseen by LHBT (as Project Manager), with a wider professional team of Richard Griffiths Architects, and Focus Consultants, and with the support of the 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.”

History

Paddington Old Cemetery is an expansively designed cemetery which opened in 1855 making it one of the earliest civic cemeteries to be built following the 1852 Metropolitan Interment Act.

The architect was Thomas Little who had recently completed a scheme at Nunhead Cemetery in Southwark Little laid out Paddington with a series of pathways in the shape of a horseshoe, which can still be seen today, with the 13th Century gothic-style Chapels as the centrepiece.

The group of buildings consist of two chapels: an Anglican chapel to the west, and a Non Conformist chapel to the east which is a typical arrangement of cemetery chapel sites from this era. The Anglican chapel is noticeably more ornate with richer decoration and a large stained glass window. Comparatively, the Non Conformist chapel is much plainer with a clear glazed tripartite window.

The twin chapels are linked by two porte-cochères with a central belfry. Tucked to each side of the belfry are located two small vicars’ offices, ladies and gentleman’s toilets, and a kitchen/workroom for the cemetery employees.

The wider cemetery includes important monuments, and 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 whose family were victims of colonialism; an important Indian journalist; and numerous members of the Windrush generation who did so much to shape this community.

Next Steps

The conclusion is that there is a worthwhile future for the Chapels that is rooted in community use, contemplation and cultural engagement. Due to the scale of the site and the work required to bring into accessible modern use, this will be a complex journey. The recommended route forward is to take a phased approach to the repair and reuse of the buildings, beginning with essential repairs that would allow scaffolding to be removed from one chapel, and for that one chapel to be brought into use in the interim.

The aim is that should this first phase secure funding, and prove to be successful, it can help generate momentum and further investment that would see the remainder of the site restored for community benefit.

LHBT has been reappointed by the London Borough of Brent to shape that first phase of work, with the aim of applying for funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, amongst others, in Spring 2026