Why Did We Choose A Horsham Chapel? - The Chapel Hairdressers

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Main Image Credit:
James French Photography, The Chapel Horsham

A Loving Restoration With Our Own Twist

We don’t want to just grow salons, we want to grow communities. Since transforming our first Chapel salon in Tunbridge Wells, we’ve always said that the buildings and the people are the most important foundations for our next salons, and so the search for unique buildings began!

Having seen that a huge part of The Chapel experience comes down to the building itself, we searched for unusual ones - even including police stations and fire stations! It saddened us to find that churches and chapels were closing, that they were each a losing community but it gave us the inspiration to build new communities for people to pause and feel great about themselves.

We fell in love with the (then) Denne Road Gospel Hall of Horsham, the interior itself still beautiful and it only took a quick 360-degree look-around inside to feel it’s special, yet behind the walls and up in the rafters we found a chapel needing some TLC.

We have been very mindful in restoring the former chapel with a personality that suits the building, we have to respect what it’s meant to people for the last 150 years. We, therefore, chose not to cover up its scars and make an attempt to portray it as something it’s not; we’re leaving some (safe!) cracks exposed that tell the building’s age whilst our own touches let its personality sing through - (in the same way we encourage our guests and stylists to be themselves!).

Community & 'The Hidden Gem' Location

You may see us use the word ‘community’ quite frequently at The Chapel and for a good reason. It stems from the very beginning of our story when we opened our first salon in Tunbridge Wells and locals discovered the new way to experience hairdressing, ultimately one that strives to give you the experience you’ve always deserved.

There’s something so captivating about converting a building that isn’t overtly a hair salon from the outside. Our guests are often surprised by the way we’ve managed to utilise an unconventional space and make it our own. The prior schoolhouse building of Sevenoaks, the Rehoboth chapel of Tunbridge Wells, the traditional London pub of Islington, and now the classic chapel in Horsham, were all ideal buildings.

To top it all, The Chapel Horsham is located just off the beaten track of the top restaurants and popular shops, yet couldn’t be more accessible with a large carpark metres away.

Old DNA, New DNA

Heading up The Chapel Horsham is our beloved Mark Palmer, who’s been a part of The Chapel Islington since the day it opened in 2007, working his way up to the position of our passionate Director of London.

“Since joining The Chapel Islington, I've watching our team double in size, and talent, and I’m truly proud to be part of such a forward thinking salon. We’ve constantly found new and innovative ways to evolve our experience, and I can’t think of any other salon that delivers anything close to our unique experience.”

He continues “I couldn’t be more enjoying this new chapter in Horsham more, I’m lucky to be part of the brilliant team alongside Hazel and Flora bringing their previous Chapel experience and it already feels like our newcomers Kylie and Fern have been with us always!

Horsham already has such a cosy and warm vibe about it, and so it's been a pleasure opening the doors to all; to meet our new neighbours and new guests alike.”

Want to take a tour or ask the team any questions?

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A huge thank you to the stunning photography by James French

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