Stoke Newington’s only Grade I-listed church boasts the most magnificent acoustic and is ideal for concerts, performances, filming, recordings and rehearsals. Any hirers must be aware that St Matthias is an active Church and its primary function is as a place of worship. This means that certain times and days are not available to hirers; especially over Easter, Christmas and other holy days. We will also need to know the content of any proposed production to ensure it is suitable for a place of worship.
We are open for live events, recordings and filming.
Max capacity - performers and audience 300
Grand piano is a Yamaha C7 concert grand tuned to A440 pitch. A piano tuner can be arranged for £90.
Built in Gothic Revival style in 1853, this magnificent building has recently hosted:
Classical Performances by Chorus of Dissent and the Elastic band (2023), Stoke Newington Early Music Festival (2021), Hackney Singers, the National Youth Choir of Antigua Barbuda, Hackney Youth Orchestras Trust and the Wing It Singers.
Acoustic Concerts here are curated by St Pancras Old Church Music, including Sean Nicholas Savage, Bill Ryder-Jones, Sinfonia Cymru, Peter Sandberg, AA Bondy, Howe Gelb, Karen Matheson, Lo Fang, Jessica Pratt, Andy Shauf, Scott Matthews, and Marissa Nadler.
Filming/recording - BBC Killing Eve Series 4
Composer and pianist Nico Casal's solo-piano video of It’s Fine, But It Hurts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ymh5UBLzgU&feature=youtu.be
Indie pop/indie rock/art rock band Sundara Karma's single The Changeover from their Ulfilas' Alphabet album https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKkDGY27HSw
London-based singer songwriter Kaine Francesco filmed Lovely People from his album Up High, a mix of baroque acoustic and electro-pop https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cMcxCmCgu4
Folk pop singer Hattie Whitehead, and classical singer Daniel Thomson, who said:
"St Matthias Church was wonderful to sing in! As well as being a beautiful, it had a brilliant acoustic, excellent lighting and good heating. It was really ideal for recording in as there was zero traffic noise from outside. I would definitely use this venue again for future recordings."
As there is only one toilet at the church, for events involving more than 10 people, or that are open to the public it is necessary to hire the neighbouring school's facilities. This is only possible outside school hours.
No kitchen but a sink and hot water urn.
The church has versatile (but heavy) moveable pews, and chairs. Moving pews is only possible for full day hires of 8+ hours.
Disabled access but no disabled toilets on site.
