Central Gurdwara (Khalsa Jatha) London

The Central Gurdwara (Khalsa Jatha) in London grew out of the Khalsa Jatha, a Sikh society formed in 1908 to promote religious and social activities among Sikhs who had settled in Britain. South Asian Britain, a university research project, calls it the first Sikh society in the UK.

The premises in order

• 1908: the Khalsa Jatha is formed.
• 1911: the Jatha acquires a house in Putney. Members had asked Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala, then visiting London, to help set up a gurdwara. He gave 1,000 pounds and was present at the opening.
• 1913: it buys the lease of 79 Sinclair Road, a Georgian terrace in Shepherd's Bush, and names the gurdwara the Bhupinder Dharamsala after the Maharaja.
• 1969: it moves into Norland Castle on Queensdale Road, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, where the gurdwara stands today.
• Early 1990s: a dome is added. The building is refurbished in 2000 and again in 2017.

The claim to be oldest: the Open House London listing calls it the UK's oldest established Sikh place of worship, and an archive record describes it as the oldest established Sikh place of worship in Europe. Neither gives evidence for the claim, so we present it as the gurdwara's own description. South Asian Britain, drawing on the same 1911 history, calls it the first Sikh gurdwara in Britain.

Why it matters: the Jatha's premises date from 1911 and 1913, before the Southall Singh Sabha opened its first gurdwara in 1964, according to that Sabha's own history. They mark the start of organised Sikh worship in London.

Where it stands: it remains a working gurdwara at Queensdale Road.