A grand Victorian building in the East End is reopening after the lockdown, and offering tours of the restored interior and chapel.

Oxford House is a Grade II Listed building from the 1890s that originally housed student volunteers from Oxford University in a “settlement” that served to enhance the poverty-stricken local community.

Today the building and the charity that runs it is an important social and community centre for the area and was recently given a major restoration. That saw a lot of more commercial spaces created to fund the social outreach side of the organisation, and the restoration of the interior decoration.

The tours let you learn more about the social history of the building, the changing visitors over the years and take a peek into the Victorian archives. 

It also includes the chapel up on the third floor.

Tours cost £5 per person and last around 40 minutes. There’s a cafe on site to finish off afterwards.

Tours have been announced for the following dates – click on links to book tickets.

Not on the tours at the moment but likely to open later this year, there’s also an amazing roof terrace with views across much of the East End of London.