Oxford Evangelical Presbyterian Church (OEPC) has secured a long-term tenancy for the North Gate Hall on St Michael’s Street in central Oxford.
Designed and constructed by J. C. Curtis for the United Free Methodist Church in 1871, the building was subsequently used by the Oxford Intercollegiate Christian Union (OICCU) for more than 50 years.
It was in the basement of the North Gate Hall, in the OICCU library, that the then recently-converted J. I. Packer first discovered the works of John Owen which went on to have such a formative influence on his life and theology and, through him, on a whole generation of evangelical pastors and writers.
After being sold to Oxford City Council in 1989, the building was used as a community centre and as a base for a local homeless charity, the Gatehouse, until 2011, when it was converted into a branch of the national restaurant chain, Bill’s.
OEPC was planted in 2018 and has grown under God’s blessing over the past four years while meeting at St Luke’s Chapel and the Friends Meeting House in the centre of the city. Discussions about a possible move to the North Gate Hall began in 2020, culminating in planning permission for the change of use in late 2022.
Working with Quinlan Terry Architects, OEPC plan to restore the building to its original form and function with a galleried chapel space at street level and a schoolroom and other ancillary rooms beneath.
‘This is an amazing answer to prayer for a very ordinary church,’ says Andy Young, who has led OEPC since its inception. ‘In a world where so many historic church buildings are being converted into restaurants, we’re excited to see this restaurant being converted back into a church.
‘The North Gate Hall was used by God so significantly in the lives of so many people in the past. We’re praying it can contribute again to making Jesus known in the centre of this incredibly strategic global city.’
