St Peter-in-the-Forest Church
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St Peter-in-the-Forest is a beautiful Victorian church, given Grade-II listed status in 2009. It is our main worship space and at the heart of our Christian mission. Our church building is also a visitor centre and a gateway from Waltham Forest to Epping Forest. Our brand-new, purpose-built community spaces inside and outside—in our ancient woodland churchyard—are perfect for all manner of group activities and community uses.
St Peter-in-the-Forest is fully wheelchair-friendly, with landscaped paths through our churchyard, a lift to the first floor, and an accessible toilet. There are two bus stops immediately outside our church on the Woodford New Road, and other nearby transport links. There is no on-site parking, but there is space on our driveway to quickly drop off equipment and people. You can make use of nearby on-street parking with a council permit.
We have three spaces available to hire: the Nave (90 seated capacity for a performance or presentation); the upstairs Rose Room (30 capacity); the downstairs Cafe Space (15 capacity).
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Please read our Terms & Conditions, which contain our cancellation policy, before making a booking.
The Nave
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Our church nave is a large and bright space, with a double height ceiling and windows along each side. It is overlooked by a balcony from our mezzanine floor. There is space to seat 90 people for a performance or presentation. Ample seating is provided. The nave is also very well-suited as a rehearsal space for drama and arts groups, or for large group activity sessions. There is a fully integrated sound system, and mounted LCD screens with software in place for screen sharing from a mobile device. The Nave is accessed through the west entrance, through our Café Space. Refreshments can be purchased for events taking place in the nave from our community café, with prior arrangement.
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Hire rate - £45 per hour
Registered charity rate - £30 per hour
Rose Room
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Our upstairs Studio Room is beautifully lit by our glorious rose window, a sun-trap throughout the afternoon. It is accessible by stairs or a lift. This stylish space is perfectly suited for arts activities, as a rehearsal space, or to host medium sized meetings. It has a capacity suitable for a maximum of 30 attendees, and seating is available. The Studio Room is fitted with a portable, stand-mounted LCD screen.
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Hire rate - £30 per hour
Registered charity rate - £15 per hour
Rising Son Café
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Our community café is the main entrance and welcome space into our church building. The Café Space has seating for visitors and displays on local history and heritage. It is a lovely space to hold small meetings. There is a stand-mounted LCD screen, which can be included in your hire.
Please note, hirers are not permitted to use the kitchen facilities here.
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Hire rate - £20 per hour
Registered charity rate - £10 per hour
The Terrace
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The Terrace is outside the west entrance to our church building. It has outside seating, a fire pit, and joins onto our forest school mud kitchen area. The fire pit is an exclusive offer within Epping Forest, allowed nowhere else within the Forest by the City of London Corporation. It can only be used by licensed forest school practitioners or those with similar experience and accreditation in fire marshalling. The Terrace provides the ideal setting for forest school activities or for outdoors wellbeing sessions. It is a remarkable and tranquil place within our ancient woodland patch.