The Blackheath Historic Buildings Trust
 The exterior of Boone's Chapel 2005 |
The Blackheath Historic Buildings Trust was set up in 1999 to raise funds for the repair and conservation of Boone’s Chapel. It is a registered charity. Boone’s Chapel is a single-storey rectangular building of just 45 square metres. Tiny in plan, the design of the exterior is grand, combining fine brickwork with detailing in Portland stone under a complex, pyramidal roof topped by a cupola. It occupies a prominent corner of the Merchant Taylors’ Company almshouses site on Lee High Road in Lewisham. |
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The original almshouses and chapel were commissioned by Christopher Boone, a London merchant and, like Sir Christopher Wren, a member of the Merchant Taylors’ Company, and built in 1683. Income from the Boone family estate in Herefordshire helped provide relief for the elderly poor of Lee and for the education of 12 poor children. The original row of almshouses stood next to the Chapel facing directly on to Lee High Road. These almshouses were demolished in 1875 but a U-shaped block, dating from 1825 and listed Grade II, remains further up the hill. After demolition of the original almshouses, the Chapel continued to function as a reading room, but fell into disuse after 1945. It is likely that Wren
was commissioned to build the Chapel and almshouses but the work
was probably carried out by Robert Hooke, a close friend and
colleague and another member of the Merchant Taylors’ Company. |
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The Chapel is currently in a poor state of repair. It is one of only two Grade 1 listed buildings in the London Borough of Lewisham and is high up on the English Heritage “Buildings at Risk” register. The Blackheath Historic Buildings Trust hopes to be in a position to begin the repair and conservation of the Chapel shortly. The restored building will function as an architectural studio and as a venue for regular public architectural and art exhibitions. |
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Directors Sir Ian Mills (Chair) Contact The Blackheath Historic Buildings Trust |
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| ©The Blackheath Historic Buildings Trust | |