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April 01, 2014

The interior of O'Neills pub in a former Presbyterian church in Muswell Hill, north London. Thanks to a steady decline in religion and the high costs of maintaining these historic buildings, a rising number of churches are being given new lives that may have horrified their founders. AFP pic, April 1, 2014.At one church, the only thing being worshipped is beer at another, gleaming cars are on sale. Increasingly, it seems, a different kind of conversion is taking place at some of Britain's churches.

Thanks to a steady decline in religion and the high costs of maintaining these historic buildings, a rising number of churches are being given new lives that may have horrified their founders.

Behind the imposing red-brick facade of one Presbyterian church in north London's upmarket Muswell Hill district, throbbing pop music and barrels of Guinness are the first clues that there's a new congregation.

The soaring Gothic arches remain but instead of an altar there's a huge bar, while tables, stools and slot-machines stand in place of the pews. Built in 1902, the church's beautiful exterior remains unchanged. Inside, it's an Irish pub.

"If it was a church, there would be only two or three people here but on Fridays and Saturdays, it's packed," said John Earl, a construction worker, as he nursed a pint.

"It is weird," he admitted. "I feel I kind of have to respect it. I don't mind being drunk here, but I don't want people carving the pillars."

At another table, 33-year-old Yamini pronounced the pub "beautiful".

"It has a different look from the other pubs," she said as she sipped red wine with a friend. "And it's being used instead of being abandoned."

Religious worship has been declining in Britain for years, and church authorities are increasingly forced to rethink the management of their huge and very expensive estates.

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