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Walthamstow is already a pretty cultured place. Home to delights such as Walthamstow Village, the William Morris Museum and God’s Own Junkyard, the northeast London borough was even named Time Out’s coolest neighbourhood in the capital as recently as 2022.
And soon ‘Stow could get a whole load more cultured. Waltham Forest Council has just given the go-ahead to two major renovations, which together make up the next phase of a planned £17 million ‘cultural quarter’. Plans were approved on July 16 for a significant revamp of both Vestry House and Chestnuts House.
The plans for Vestry House have been previously covered on Time Out and involve a general refurb, improved accessibility and a new café and restaurant. According to the Waltham Forest Echo, the council wants to increase footfall at Vestry House from 20,000 per year to 60,000.
Chestnuts House, meanwhile, will be repurposed as a ‘creative workshop and café’. The Grade II-listed manor, which is on Historic England’s ‘heritage at-risk’ register, will get new doors, repairs to its windows and an outdoor building demolished, as well as generally spruced-up.
The two schemes will be paid for using ‘levelling up’ funding from the national government. Work on Chestnuts House is expected to be finished by early 2025, while Vestry House’s makeover will be complete by 2026.
Time Out Walthamstow
We’re big fans of ‘Stow over here at Time Out – for proof, see our individual guides to Blackhorse Lane, Orford Road and Hoe Street, as well as our overall Walthamstow area guide.
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