Renovated chapel granted wedding licence

A once run-down Victorian chapel in Coventry renovated with lottery cash has been granted a wedding licence.

The Grade II listed Anglican building on London Road was built in 1847, but fell into disrepair, before being restored by Historic Coventry Trust (HCT) and Coventry City Council.

Sitting within the Paxton Arboretum and initially used for funeral services, it was designed by Sir Joseph Paxton - best known for creating Crystal Palace - alongside his assistants George Robertson and George Henry Stokes.

It reopened in 2022 as an events venue, but is now licensed for weddings, civil partnerships and vow renewal ceremonies, with an open day being held for prospective couples on 13 September.

The site was one of the first municipal cemeteries in England and later became the London Road Cemetery, where a memorial to Paxton was unveiled in 1868.

Listed by Historic England as Cemetery Chapel, the building fell into disuse in the 1960s and more recently was restored thanks to £1.4m in grants from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the National Lottery Community Fund.

Jennie Rutte, manager at the HCT said "[Paxton] also designed the Crystal Palace for the Great Exhibition of 1851 and was commissioned to design a new cemetery by Coventry City Council.

"Both the Anglican chapel and the non-conformist chapel was designed as part of that."

Renovation work saw plaster stripped back to reveal the original bare stone walls, and also saw the installation of a kitchenette, toilets and underfloor heating, so the building could be used as an events venue.

Rutte said she thought the building now offered couples the chance to tie the knot in something resembling a traditional church, but that could tailored to specific requirements.

"We've had steampunk weddings and very romantic, fairy-tale weddings. I think it's a really lovely space for people looking for something a little bit different," she said.

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