| AdminHistory | The Tower Hamlets Mission was established by Frederick Nicholas Charrington (1850-1936) in 1885. Charrington was an heir of the the brewing family of the Anchor Brewery, Mile End. However at the age of 19 he became an evangelical Christian. He abandoned his family business and devoted his life to helping the poor of the East End. the Mission's huge Great Assembly Hall (which could accommodate 5,000) in the Mile End Road became a centre for evangelistic Christian work with temperance a key element.
The Great Assembly Hall was destroyed by enemy action in 1941. Work continued using an undamaged area until a new church and hall were completed in 1959. The work of the Mission continued to focus on those in need of shelter, clothing and food. Because so many of those coming to the Mission had addiction problems and needed specialised help it was decided that they needed help beyond just shelter and food. Plans were put in place to convert part of the Church Hall into a 7 bed residential home. This accommodation was to become known as Charis (from the New Testament Greek word for Grace) which opened its doors to its first residents on 5th May 1988. Because of its immediate success plans to extend the home were put in place in 1990. The extended Charis (16 bed) included a Second Stage and was opened by the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey of Clifton. However, more facilities were still needed. In 1996 the Church was demolished to make way for a Third Stage (9 rehabilitation flats) which would be known as The Charis Terrace and a chapel to replace the Church. The Charis Terrace opened on 1st July 1997 and the chapel was opened by the Archbishop of Canterbury on the 11th July 2002. A further 3 flats were opened in October 2011. |