The Crypt has not been seen without internal partitions since the 1700s.
Christ Church, Spitalfields, was designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor and completed in 1729. The Church itself was extensively refurbished a decade ago and now it's the turn of the Crypt beneath.
The soil breaking ceremony on October 7th was a chance to see the space without internal divisions that divided it for centuries, but more exciting is the anticipation of the completed works, scheduled for spring 2015.
Dow Jones Architects won the commission back in 2008 with a proposal that will provide a fully inclusive, not just accessible, entrance into new multi-use spaces divided with oak walls and doors. The design allows daylight into spaces that can be acoustically and spatially combined or separated to support an even more varied range of uses than prior to the commencement of works.
Rev. Andy Rider and a church warden wield a drill at the soil breaking ceremony.