Throughout its history, All Saints has been much more than a church.  Its ceremonial role dates back to those early coronations but has always been important – right down to the present day, when it is the site for the annual civic and Crown Court services.  It was also for a long time the only building in the town large enough to accommodate major assemblies, and this use persists to this day in its use as a venue for major school occasions as well as concerts and other artistic ventures.
 
But All Saints has also played a part in the day-to-day life of Kingston down the ages.  It has been the heart of the town, its focal point, a landmark and a meeting place, a place created for every citizen of the borough to call his or her own.  It has been a vital instrument in what would now be called social policy, providing refuge for the poor and hungry and solace to the afflicted.
 
It is time we returned to those roots.  No church can stand back from the society of which it is a part.  All Saints is, and will remain, primarily a place of worship and spirituality, but it can and must play a much larger part in the social, artistic and even the commercial life of the town.
 
This is at the heart of our vision for the site.  We believe that All Saints can once more be at the heart and soul of Kingston, to its benefit and that of the town as a whole.  Developing the heritage aspects of the church, to make Kingston residents and the world generally more aware of the rich tapestry of its past, is an important part of this vision.  All Saints is the forgotten jewel in the crown of buildings stretching from the Tower of  London and Westminster to Hampton Court and, beyond that, Runnymede and Windsor that between them define the history of this nation.
 
But it is not enough to invoke the past, wonderful though it would be to see Kingston established as a crucial part of the heritage trail.  We need also to address the needs of today’s town.  Remarkably, for a town of its size, Kingston has very few meeting rooms at its centre, whether for use by business or by groups fulfilling a social need.  And, though All Saints is well established as the major classical music venue within the town – and can be seen, with the Rose Theatre and other smaller venues, as being at the heart of the town’s cultural renaissance – its facilities are a long way short of what a modern audience has come to expect.  In developing the site to tackle these shortcomings, we can give back to Kingston what it has for too long lacked – a focus for its spiritual, historical, social and cultural identity that everyone can share.  And we can preserve what All Saints has always been – a haven of peace in a busy world and a refuge from the pressures of everyday life where anyone who seeks rest can find it.