What is it?
This Grade I-listed gothic masterpiece, completed in 1877, is still a working church and a help centre for London’s homeless. Noble purposes, to be sure, but equally uplifting is the effect the environment has on performances – and performers. Put simply, bands raise their game when they’re playing the Union Chapel – it’d be sacrilege not to – and the spellbinding surroundings and acoustics mean it still beats the crap out of the most modern, purpose-built venues. Elton John, Björk, Amy Winehouse, Ed Sheeran, Mavis Staples and Nick Cave are just a few of the big names that have graced its staged. It’s recently expanded its programming to encompass comedy and live podcast recordings too. Only downside: because it’s a house of God, no alcoholic drinks are allowed in the performance space (though there is a bar).
Why go?
For ethereal acoustics in one of London’s most beautiful and benevolent live music venues.
Don’t miss
Union Chapel’s guided tours on the first Wednesday of every month give you a closer look at its magnificent Father Henry Willis organ (one of just a few left in the UK an original hydraulic blowing system) and delves deeper into the building’s bumpy history, including its survival of a WW2 bomb.
When to visit
Open Monday to Saturday, 9am-5pm. Evening programmes vary.
Ticket info
Standard tickets for guided tours of Union Chapel are £15. Concession tickets are £10, children 12 years and under are £5 and 4 years and under get in free.
For events, ticket prices vary.
Time Out tip
The Margins Project is the homelessness charity based at Union Chapel that offers pre-show dinner at Margins Café for almost every evening event. You have to have a general admission ticket to the show on the night and all profits go towards the charity.
