King Charles the Martyr is a Grade I-listed church that was opened in 1678. A stunning example of a Restoration church, people come from far and wide to see its ceilings, designed by plasterers closely associated to Sir Christopher Wren.

The church hall, a stone’s throw away from the Pantiles, was built in 1916. It is a much-loved space in the centre of town, used by a wide range of community groups, from our local MP’s surgery to AGMs for local business to ballet classes.

Unfortunately, the building’s roof has fallen into a very poor state, with regular leaks threatening to damage the structure of the building and make it unusable. King Charles the Martyr are urgently raising funds to renovate the roof, as well as install a disabled-access ramp to improve the hall’s accessibility, with works planned to start this summer.

To make a donation, please visit https://www.kcmtw.org/make-a-donation/

A community centre in the heart of Tunbridge Wells

As you may know, our Church Hall is one of the best-loved community spaces in central Tunbridge Wells. It is a vibrant and well used community centre, hosting a large number of local groups, activities and classes, week in, week out.

There are too many to list, but these include: community groups tackling loneliness and isolation among older people, the Warm Space in Winter 2022, as well as local MP surgeries, events from groups like MIND and Friends of the Earth, dog training and yoga classes, and many, many more.

The Hall also used to be part of the Winter Shelter project for homeless people for 9 years, and more recently, hosted meet-up groups for local Ukrainian refugees.

The roof renovation forms part of a wider renovation programme to the church hall, including installing a disabled-access ramp and improving our welcome by moving the Church Office to the front of the building and installing new signage.

SUPPORT FOR THE HALL4ALL CAMPAIGN

The National Lottery Community Fund recently launched its strategy, ‘It starts with community’, which will underpin its efforts to distribute at least £4 billion of National Lottery funding by 2030.

As part of this, the funder has four key missions, which are to support communities to come together, be environmentally sustainable, help children and young people thrive and enable people to live healthier lives.

To find out more visit www.TNLCommunityFund.org.uk