Local history

Mansford Street Church was originally set up as part of a Unitarian mission to the East End to try to help communities of all faiths.

It was first set up in a disused weaver’s shed in Spicer Street in Spitalfields about 1850. The area was overcrowded, with the majority of the inhabitants living in abject poverty. It was used as a school for people of all ages and a chapel. The intention was always to help local people to become more independent and self-sufficient but alms-giving always remained an important part of the work.

In 1888 the mission moved to Mansford Street in Bethnal Green into a disused Congregational chapel bought for the purpose. Educational work was still central, as well as a working man’s club and a reading room. Organising holidays for local people away from the unhealthy atmosphere of London was also a tradition in the East End missions.

By the turn of the century the centre was thriving offering more extensive services to the women of the community. By the thirties however the role of missions in the East End was uncertain.

In recent years the old mission has reinvented itself as a community centre, offering space to Quaker Social Action groups helping the local community, as well as renting out the church space for community and private events.

The congregation still meets in a more intimate space above the church on the first and third Sundays of the month.