Consecrated in 1762, the church has a strong history of social care. The idea of Amnesty International was started at the church and the charity Shelter also began at the site.

Today, this tradition of working with disadvantaged and vulnerable people is continuing in the renovated church basements. The regeneration scheme helped to replace the failing 19th-century vaults, which were originally built as burial vaults, with a double-storey basement. This has provided improved areas for social work as well as accommodation for the Chinese community and a new church hall.

Improvement work also included restoring the Grade I listed church building and providing first-class new facilities for the hundreds of thousands of visitors that pass through its doors each year.

The church’s transformation has benefited many thousands of people, including congregations, vulnerable and homeless people, and users of a Chinese People’s Day Centre. By preserving an iconic part of our heritage, the project has also enabled the UK’s most visited church to be enjoyed for generations to come.