WANSTEAD/WOODFORD: A chance to explore local buildings will be offered during open weekend (From East London and West Essex Guardian Series)

WANSTEAD/WOODFORD: A chance to explore local buildings will be offered during open weekend

4:16pm Friday 3rd September 2010 in Your Local Areas By Clare Hardy

A CHURCH crypt and a hexagonal meeting house are among the sights that people will soon be able to see across Wanstead and Woodford.

People will be able to look around the buildings as part of Open House London on September 18 and 19.

The Crypt at St Mary the Virgin church in Overton Drive will be open for the first time in five years and people can also see the church's Georgian architecture.

Church warden at St Mary the Virgin and Christ Church in Wanstead Place, Penelope Garlick said: “It's an excellent weekend.

“The crypt runs under the main part of the church and has open compartments that people were buried in. It has quite a mysterious feeling, but it's not one I find that pleasant.

“There is also a sanctuary and a monument to Josiah Child, who was associated with the East India Company.”

As well as tours of St Mary and its crypt, cream teas and a barbecue will be on offer at Christ Church, as well as the church's annual flower festival.

Another building opening over the weekend will the the Quaker Meeting House in Bush Road, which warden Mark Rasmussen said people would find very peaceful.

“The building was built in 1968 and is unusual because it is hexagonal,” he added. “It serves as a meeting place for a lot of community groups. We have groups in every day of the week. It's quite a challenge to manage all the different appointments.

“A lot of people come in and say how peaceful it is, as it has big windows with the Epping Forest and the Quaker burial ground outside.”

The aim of Open House London is to help people appreciate the buildings where they live for free.

Other buildings open during the weekend include the Sukkat Shalom Reform Synagogue in Victory Road, Bancroft's School in Woodford Green High Road, Ilford, The Hospital Chapen of St Mary and St Thomas in Ilford Hill, Redbridge Town Hall, Ilford Memorial Hall and the old Barnardo's Village in Barkingside.

For a full programme of events, visit the website www.londonopenhouse.org