UK – Buddhist buildings and English heritage

London Buddhist Centre (Triratna), former fire station. Image by Caroline Starkey (?)

Doctoral researcher Caroline Starkey and Dr Emma Tomalin are conducting research about the buildings that Buddhist communities in the UK build and use, and what these tell us about their corresponding communities.

“Several of the groups we visited have renovated buildings that tell an important story about English social history – a Victorian fire-station, several stately homes, an Edwardian industrial school, an Anglican clergy training centre, and a former Catholic abbey, to cite a few examples. Whilst these buildings are now Buddhist centres, most are also opened out to the public, preserving the heritage for all. And the process of building or renovating is often closely intertwined with the development of Buddhist communities themselves, as a shared project helps strengthen community bonds”

Read the whole blog post here.