8 Buildings for 8 Faiths

This talks helps you to appreciate the astonishing range of signature buildings of faith communities settling in London. New arrivals leave their imprint on a city where Jews, Muslims, Roman Catholics, Hindus, Methodists, Sikhs, Buddhists and Orthodox Greeks have each added their own layer. They have all left a remarkable signature. Here are eight faith communities which can each point to a special place they built, not on first arrival, but when numbers and self-confidence had grown in the knowledge they had established themselves for the long term. Crucially, it was when they had the wealth and resources to commission great architecture. So we have a synagogue, a chapel, a gurdwara, a monastery, a couple of cathedrals, a temple and a mosque, permanent markers of the highest quality. Their differences stretch across cultures and 300 hundred years of persecutions and economic crises. Their similarities are also striking.

About the speaker

As a London walking tour guide and lecturer, Charlie Forman highlights the social, architectural and artistic history of his home city. It is a city that he is passionate about, not least because it has a historic core larger and richer than any other world city. As a member of the City of Westminster Guide Lecturers Association, his talks focus on the forces that have shaped and changed this multi-faceted metropolis and the artistic and cultural heritage that this has given us.

This event is free to members.

Visitors are welcome to join us - £5 on the door.