His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales joined the Bishop of London at Christ Church Spitalfields, the Grade 1 listed Hawksmoor masterpiece, to visit its redeveloped crypt and meet volunteers and church members who use its facilities, which include a performance space, cafe and gallery.

During the visit, The Prince met representatives of organisations including GrowTH, a Tower Hamlets network of churches which offer night support, shelter and assistance for homeless men and women and The Spitalfields Crypt Trust, a charity that was started in the crypt over 50 years ago, which provides practical help, support and training to people who have been homeless.

The Prince, who is President of The Prince’s Foundation for Building Community, stayed to attend a workshop on the use of church buildings in community engagement hosted by The Prince’s Foundation and The Church of England’s ChurchCare team.

The redevelopment of the crypt was designed by Dow Jones Architects who were appointed after winning an architectural design competition with their proposal. It re-unified the crypt as one space, allowing natural light to fill it, with oak enclosures dividing the functional spaces in a response to Hawksmoor’s use of joinery in the church above. The crypt has been shortlisted for a number of design prizes.

The Rector of Christ Church Spitalfields, the Reverend Andy Rider, said:

“It felt like the completion of Christ Church Spitalfields, as The Prince of Wales and the Bishop of London officially visited our new and functional spaces. The Prince declared that it was the best place in London to have a cup of tea! The crypt is already a home and resource for the many activities that take place at Christ Church and I pray that it serves future generations for years and always gives glory to God. Thanks to all the team who made it happen.”

Between 1729 and the mid-20^th century, the crypt was a place for burials. Those human remains were latterly removed and are now in storage at the Natural History Museum. In the 1980s, the crypt became home to the Spitalfields Crypt Trust as a hostel for those recovering from homelessness, alcohol and drug addiction. The trust later moved to purpose-built premises in Shoreditch and funding was secured in 2012 from The Monument Trust to redevelop the whole of the crypt.

Photographs by Daniel Leal-Olivas