"The Grade II listed building is on Historic England's Heritage at Risk Register and is currently recorded as being in poor condition. The national Marine Society and Sea Cadets (MSSC), which held the lease, has confirmed that it can no longer meet the building's repair obligations and will surrender the lease so that restoration can be carried out by new occupants."
"Options studies carried out between 2020 and 2022 concluded that while it would technically be possible to retain the guns, their presence limited how the internal space could be used or adapted for public access. So, the Ministry of Defence has agreed to take back the guns."
"Following an inspection by Defence Munitions in 2023, the Royal Navy confirmed that the guns will be relocated to HMS Excellent at Whale Island in Portsmouth, a long-established naval training base where they will continue to be preserved as part of the Royal Navy's training heritage."
Two WWII-era naval guns—an Oerlikon 20mm Cannon and a Bofors 40mm anti-aircraft gun—have been removed from the Tin Tabernacle in Kilburn, a Grade II listed building that served as a Sea Cadets naval training vessel since the late 1940s. The Ministry of Defence loaned these guns in the late 1960s for training purposes. The building's deteriorating condition and the guns' presence limiting internal space adaptation prompted studies concluding that removal would facilitate restoration. The Royal Navy will relocate the guns to HMS Excellent at Whale Island in Portsmouth, a naval training base, where they will be preserved as training heritage. The MoD is funding removal, transport, and floor reinstatement. This removal enables the London Historic Buildings Trust to pursue comprehensive restoration and secure external funding for the building's sustainable future as a community asset.
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