New live venue for Crouch End at Holy Innocents church

The soft launch at Holy Innocents in Tottenham Lane on Friday is a free gig by acclaimed Muswell Hill rock/blues guitarist Eddie Angel.

The community run venue will be managed by the organisers behind Crouch End's annual festival, who say the Victorian church can host everything from classical to contemporary, blues, jazz, folk and light rock.

The church can host audiences of 300-500 bringing bigger names and acts to N8 (Image: Courtesy of Chris Arnold)

And they are planning to raise £20k to install a PA, mixing desk, and lighting equipment for the Friday night performances on a 'plug and play' approach.

Crouch End Festival artistic director Chris Arnold said: "As a live venue it is awesome - the acoustics are amazing, it's a great setting and atmosphere. It seats 300+ so means we can start getting bigger bands, high end performers, and bigger audiences into the area which will benefit local restaurants and shops."

He added that Vicar Father Ben Kerridge backs the plan.

Holy Innocents Church on Tottenham Lane is Grade II listed and dates back to the 1870s (Image: Courtesy of Chris Arnold)

"He loves it, I've known him for years and it's an opportunity that can create money for the church and its valuable community work, and bring people from outside into the community. Whatever equipment we put in, it has to be discreet because it’s still a church."

The venue is also suitable for drama, dance and other performances says Arnold: "We realised when we started doing the festival 12 years ago that Crouch End doesn't have any significant sized venues. It's known as London's creative village, with a thriving creative community but much of it is going on in small venues like pubs."

Festival organisers already run The Intimate Space at St Mary's Tower in Hornsey as a year-round venue, staging comedy, music, theatre, spoken word, dance, art, and magic, as well hiring it out to community groups and schools.

Chris Arnold (right) promoting the annual Crouch End Festival which this year runs July 7-9, 2023 (Image: � Nigel Sutton email pictures@nigelsuttonphotography.com)

Arnold sees Holy Innocents as complementing the planned Arts Centre which is part of the Hornsey Town Hall development.

"It will be fantastic asset to the area, but it may be a year before it is up and running and it will be a more commercially orientated venture.

"This is not about money but about championing Crouch End and Hornsey Village's reputation as a hub for great performance and music of all kinds."

Eddie Angel Group play Holy Innocents church at 9pm on Friday, April 21 (Image: Courtesy of Chris Arnold)

Eddie Angel Group play Holy Innocents in Tottenham Lane on April 21. Music starts at 9pm with free drinks at 8.30pm. Find out more about the project at Hornsey Village Life facebook page.