Page "St Matthias Old Church" Paragraph 7

Poplar was heavily bombed during the Second World War, but St Matthias survived with only shards of shrapnel buried in some of the walls.

However in the 1970s dwindling congregations led to a mergers and the church was declared redundant in 1977 and deconsecrated by the Church of England.

After several years of dereliction English Heritage and the London Docklands Development Corporation ( LDDC ) agreed to major restoration in 1990, with the agreed use being as an " Arts Centre ".

As the LDDC did not have the funding to match English Heritage, LDDC decided that its contribution should be part of the necessary ' Planning Gain ' required for the West India Quay site, which they were in the process of selling.

The UK agent's of the overseas purchaser, Cheval, refused to accept the ' Arts Centre ' and demanded local involvement in determining future use as well as the establishment of a " sinking fund " to maintain St. Matthias in perpetuity.

In 1992 the St Matthias Conservation trust was set up to preserve the building and provide use as a community centre.