Church of the Ascension, Blackheath: One Roof Many Stories
The project ‘One Roof Many Stories’ aims to research and record the people and events around the Church of the Ascension in Blackheath that evidence its radical and inclusive history.
The project obtained funding (£10,000) from the National Heritage Lottery Fund in May 2021 and this first phase of research will finish in July 2022.
There is no Archive at present (July 2021) and we are seeking the most appropriate way to set up an Archive – to start the process of cataloguing and making a searchable archive. Eventually we hope to provide access to the extensive collection of both print and digitised documents, images and audio recordings.
We are exploring a range of themes- with congregation, residents,local historians and local schools.
The project will be running June 2021-July 2022 and we have an evolving set of themes:
- Local Merchant families, slave plantation owners and Empire connections
- Legge family Earls of Dartmouth – roots of the church
- Vicars and Church
- Mission / Community Outreach
- Suffrage campaigners
- South Bank Religion / ordination of women / liturgy
- Choir and church music
- Lesbian and Gay history / Open Table / LGBTQIA+
- Living memories
We are sharing stories and ideas on Padlet. The above themes indicate just some of the “untold stories” we will be exploring in relation to the church and immediate community.
Church of the Ascension Blackheath has over 220 year history, from the founding of its predecessor chapel around 1700 and its constitution as a parish church in 1883. It played a pivotal role in the “South Bank Religion” of the 1970 and 80s.
An Exhibition of posters on the themes we explored was held inJuly 2022- A selection of the posters can be seen here