St. Dunstan in the East

City of London

Restoring a Wren landmark in London.

Challenges

Adapting a run-down structure for modern day use while protecting its heritage value.
Working with a site that combines remnants of a medieval church, Wren’s 17th-century tower, and later historic fabric.
Achieving both planning permission and faculty consent in the context of a listed heritage asset in the City.

A contemporary lounge space with a wooden coffee table, small iron fireplace and polished wooden floor.

White kitchen with oak fronted storage across the opposing wall.

Our Solution

Our conservation team led a significance-led feasibility and design process to unlock the potential of the historic fabric while preserving its unique character. Developing a scheme to both restore and safeguard the surviving church fabric and sensitively convert the historic tower into a unique residential dwelling.

The Design

St Dunstan in the East is a thoughtful blend of conservation and reuse. The final build respects the layered history of the site through careful repair and provides practical new uses that reinforce the cultural value of this unique landmark.

The Wren tower was converted into contemporary accommodation without disturbing the historic fabric of the space. We reordered former clinical spaces to reconnect the building with its original ecclesiastical character and secured both planning permission and faculty consent.

The result was a delicately restored space with discreet and complementary design interventions allowing the historic importance of the building to be the hero without sacrificing modern expectations.