The Extraordinary Church Transformed Into A Battleship

I had the pleasure recently of being shown around the Tin Tabernacle in Kilburn. It is full of surprises and genuinely, I think, one of London’s quirkiest buildings.

A “Temporary” Church

Up until the mid-19th century, much of Kilburn, an area in North West London, was pretty much all farmland. The arrival of the railways brought development to the area and as the population grew so did the need for churches.

Between 1853-63 the Tin Tabernacle, initially known as St James Church, was built by James Bailey, a local developer.

Despite the misleading nickname, the Tin Tabernacle was constructed of galvanised corrugated iron and initially intended as a temporary structure.

It was to be replaced by a stone church after about 5 years, but no-one ever got round to it. The fact it is still there is testament to the durability of Victorian construction!

There are a few other tin tabernacles in London, for example in Bowes Green and Haggerston, but the Kilburn tabernacle definitely holds the title of having the quirkiest story.

From 1894 it was taken over by a different Christian group and known as ‘Cambridge Hall’. It was used as a church, lecture hall and concert venue up until the Second World War.

There is a local understanding that the building was used as an ARP (Air Raid Precautions) centre during the war; organising fire wardens, first aid, gas masks etc.

A Ship-Shape Interior

Head inside today and you will undoubtedly be taken aback by the interior. It has been transformed into a replica battleship.

In 1948 the Sea Cadets took over the church and renamed it the ‘Training Ship Bicester’. The name came from HMS Bicester: an escort destroyer, scrapped in 1956.

The building was decked out (if you’ll pardon the pun) with cabins, port holes, a ships wheel and various other naval ephemera.

Two guns were added in the 1960’s. The largest one, in the centre, is a Bofor 40mm anti-aircraft gun. Most items were salvaged by Colonel Greathurst of the Sea Cadets on a trip to Portsmouth.

The Sea Cadets no longer use the building regularly and it acts more as an archive for them, with plenty of historical artefacts.

There is also a brilliant scale model of the church inside, created for an art exhibition a few years ago.

The Chapel With A Secret

The church was never actually deconsecrated and tucked behind one of the cabin doors you will find one of the most surprising parts of the building: the chapel.

The tiny chapel has plastic stained glass windows, a large altar and various religious fittings.

They were all, bar a few items, salvaged from the set of the 1964 film Becket, starring Peter O’Toole and Richard Burton. No-one is quite sure how they got there…

The Ship’s Cat

The Tin Tabernacle also has a resident cat named Tiff! She arrived at the church in 2014 as a starved stray but is now well-fed and happy; looked after by the volunteers.

Warning: she will ask you for snacks.

The Future

The building is Grade II listed and is on the Heritage at Risk register.

Thankfully, the site received a Culture Recovery Fund Grant, administered by Historic England, and the team at the Tin Tabernacle, the Sea Cadets and the current owners (the Notting Hill Genesis Housing Association) are working with Historic England and London Historic Buildings Trust to plan refurbishments and set out a plan for the future of the building. You can find out more about that here.

The general aim is to make sure it stays as a community building and become more of a cultural venue.

Unfortunately the church is not currently open to the public, however, they seem to open occasionally for specific events.

You can find their website here.

Thank you for reading, see below for more quirky London sites.