Holy Trinity Church Clapham last week celebrated completing £7million of renovation work, following eight years of planning and two years of building works.
More than £5million was raised by the church’s congregation, mostly through donations, while the rest was made up of church grants and external individuals.
Church members celebrated the re-opening of the entire church building with a boat party silent disco on Friday, the church bells ringing throughout Saturday and celebrations alongside the Sunday services.
Speaking in a sermon, rector Jago Wynne said: “Our prayer, as we met eight years ago, was ‘how can this building stop being a barrier and instead be a boost to the vision of this church’.”
The church had to raise an extra £1million after the government changed a scheme to help with church repairs in April 2025.
Previously the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme provided full VAT rebate for repairs, but this has now been capped at £25,000.
This cap pushed renovation costs from £6.2million to £7.2million.
Renovations included extending the church for additional rooms, new floors, underfloor heating, repainting and installing lifts.
Before children had to be escorted across a busy road to the Sunday morning kids groups at a different location, but kids rooms have now been built in the wings of the church meaning the groups can take place on site.
Holy Trinity Church had originally aimed for the building works to be finished by May when they celebrated the 250th anniversary of the church, which was built in 1776.
The church was famously attended by abolitionist William Wilberforce who moved to Clapham shortly after giving his first speech on the slave trade in the House of Commons in 1789.
His campaigning led to the Slavery Abolition Act being passed in 1833.
“The building remembers an incredible legacy,” said Wynne, who showed a quote by Wilberforce inscribed on the church bells during the service.
The church has seen a lot of change in the past 250 years. A large part of the congregation today is young people and services include pop culture references and are uploaded to YouTube afterwards.
As well as a kids’ club, Holy Trinity Church Clapham runs a breakfast club where they serve hot food once a week and provide support for inmates at Brixton Prison.
Feature image courtesy of Jago Wynne, with thanks
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