Gravesend, a town in Kent in the South

East of England, welcomed its first Sikhs

in the 1950’s. Most of the Sikhs in

Gravesend arrived during the 1960’s,

and there has been a steady increase

in numbers ever since. Now, there are

estimated to be about 15,000 Sikhs in

the area, over 15 per cent of the

population of Gravesham, which now

includes Gravesend.

Up to the late 1960’s, Sikhs gathered in

a house in Edwin Street for religious

services, and then moved to the

Gurdwara in Clarence Place,

previously a Church, which was the

focus of the community until 2010.

By the late 1990’s, the community had

outgrown these premises, and the

Gurdwara purchased an area of land

off Saddington Street, adjacent to their

existing football field, Sports Centre and

Education Centre. This would make it

possible to combine all the main

activities on one site.

The Gurdwara Committee worked

closely with the wider community to

develop the brief for the project to

construct a new Gurdwara on the site.

It was clear from the beginning that the

community wanted the building to

reflect Indian cultural origins, and at

A Gurdwara for the 21st Century…

Background

the same time provide facilities suitable

for Sikhs living in modern day Britain. The

8.5 acre site offered the chance to

create a landmark project reflecting the

growing confidence of British Sikhs.

The brief required the plans to include:

Three Diwan Halls

Two Langar Halls with Kitchens

Lecture Theatre

Library and IT Training Suite

Nursery/Creche

General Purpose Meeting Rooms

Under the leadership, foresight and

ambition of the late Gurdev Singh

Raipur, then President, the Gurdwara

Committee appointed Calfordseaden

as Architects for the development, with

local resident Harbhajan Singh Biring

(Teja) as the lead architect. The project,

funded entirely by the local community,

is now being completed under the

current President, Jaspal Singh Dhesi.

The Gurdwara set up their own

construction company, GNG

Construction Ltd, to take advantage of

skills that existed in the local community.

However, for the detailed stonework

and woodcarving, specialist companies

in India were identified to provide the

relevant expertise.

Guru Nanak Darbar on the

evening of the move to the new

Gurdwara, November 2010

Guru Nanak

Darbar Gurdwara,

Gravesend

Guru Nanak Darbar

Gurdwara,

Gravesend, named

after Guru Nanak

Sahib Ji, founder of

Sikhism. The

community moved

into the new

Gurdwara on Guru

Nanak Sahib Ji’s

531st birthday

celebrations in

November 2010.

Exquisite wood

carvings and

stonework appear

throughout the

Gurdwara, adding

beauty and grace to

the serenity of this

holy place.

…A Gurdwara Inspired by History

The Sikh community of Gravesend

started using Guru Nanak Darbar

Gurdwara in Gravesend as their main

place of Worship in November 2010, on

the occasion of the birthday of Guru

Nanak Sahib Ji, the founder of the Sikh

faith.

Work on the new Gurdwara has taken

about nine years, with the first digging

of the turf on the site taking place in

April 2002. Some work is ongoing and

should be completed within 2011, but

the building is now being used on a full

time basis as the main centre of

collective prayer and activities for the

community.

The design of the building has been

inspired by many historic Gurdwaras in

India, including Sikhism’s holiest place,

the Harimandir Sahib (sometimes

referred to as the Golden Temple) in

Amritsar. Like Harimandir Sahib, the

complex has been designed with four

gateways (two of which are symbolic),

to emphasise the Sikh principle of

being open to everyone.

The Gurdwara site now also includes

the Guru Nanak Day Centre (for the

elderly), the Punjabi School (classes at

weekends for about 250 children),

The New Gurdwara

playing fields and football pitch (base

for Guru Nanak Sports Club) and Sports

Hall. There is also parking for about 250

cars and five coaches.

The new Gurdwara contains three

Prayer Halls: one for about 1,000 people

(Bhai Gurdas Ji Hall), and two for about

450 people each (Bhai Fauja Singh Ji

Hall and Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale

Hall). It also has two Langar Halls (dining

rooms), each capable of seating about

500 people, and with separate kitchens.

When completed, the building will also

have a Lecture Theatre for about 140

people, a Computer Suite, Library,

Nursery, and a Shop. Two lifts are

available for the elderly or people with

disabilities. Provision has also been

made in all the Prayer Halls for

wheelchair access.

The new Gurdwara, when completed,

will have cost about £13 million. The

funding has been raised by the local

community, through one-off and regular

donations, and a bank loan. In addition,

many people have volunteered their

time and labour, or resources such as

the plant equipment needed during the

period of construction. Without these

additional resources, the work could

have cost at least twice as much.

Semi precious stones used in the

intricate stonework around the

Gurdwara exterior.

Main Diwan Hall,

Bhai Gurdas Ji Hall

The new Gurdwara building is based on a

concrete structure, reinforced with steel.

Over 35,000 tons of concrete and 700

tons of steel were used in the basic

construction. The concrete has then been

clad on the outside with Marble and

Granite from India, with a layer of

insulation between the concrete and the

stonework. The details around the

windows and doors have been picked

out in finely carved marble. ThePorch and

Veranda are all in finely carved marble

with coloured inlay panels, and bas relief

images of Historic Gurdwaras in India and

Pakistan.

Expert stonemasons from India came to fit

the stonework over a period of about four

years. The stonework also includes many

carvings, and intricate designs using semi-

precious stones. Overall, about 1,400

tonnes of Marble and Granite have been

used. In the front of the Gurdwara, there

are water features and fountains.

The Gurdwara has five domes, to honour

and represent the Five Beloved Ones

(Panj Pyare) with the largest being above

the main Worship Hall. This dome is 18

metres in diameter, while the one above

the entrance foyer is 12 metres in

diameter.

The domes were constructed using a mix

of old and new technologies. They are

covered with white marble tiles on the

outside, and each is lined on the inside

with specially-commissioned glass

mosaics. The basic construction of the

domes is of steel girders encased in two

layers of concrete, with a layer of

insulation between these.

Architect Harbhajan Singh Biring (Teja) in

front of the Gurdwara

Ground Floor

Design & Construction of the Gurdwara….

Mata Khivi Langar Hall

Bibi Nanaki Langar Hall

The building contains intricately carved

woodwork in the form of doors, banisters

and railings around the balconies and

stairs. The woodwork has all come from

India, with expert craftsmen coming to

the site to install and finish the work. The

main wood used is a form of Indian Teak,

which has been treated with oils to give it

the finished look.

Local school children were asked to

come up with ideas for the windows.

These were used as a basis for the

designs of the stained glass windows

behind the Dais in the Prayer Halls. The

process involved coloured pieces of glass

being embossed and fused together by

heat in a kiln. The stained glass windows

were made in Britain, while the glass

panels inside the doors are from India.

…….where East meets West

Bhai Gurdas Ji

Diwan Hall

Bhai Fauja

Singh Diwan

Hall

Sant Jarnail

Singh

Bhindranwale

Diwan Hall

The Journey from 2002 to 2011

Construction of the domes

Art in Stone, Glass and Wood