St James Church in West Hampstead is a lovely building, but what’s inside is even more spectacular. Through the stained glass windows is the Sherriff Centre: a decade-old social enterprise, which goes above and beyond to support its local community.
The venue is a rather peculiar-though-practical blend of Post Office, children’s soft play centre, café and stationery shop. It also plays host to weekly baby and toddler classes, as well as live music events.
As soft play goes, Hullabaloo at the Sherriff Centre is certainly one of the more appealing ones – for the adults, at least. Taking over one side of the church, the soft play itself is no different to any others, really – but it’s the location that sets this one apart from the rest. There’s coffee, there’s cake, and the setting is surely as stress-busting as soft play can be.
There are separate sections for babies up to 23 months, and bigger adventurers aged between 2-10 (though bubs aged 18 months and older can venture into the junior section if they are particularly confident). Babies cost £5 per hour, juniors cost £7, and grown-ups go free. You can book a one or two hour session here – though it’s recommended that you book for two hours if you’re staying for coffee and cake.
Speaking of which, the lovely Sanctuary Cafe and Bar is a brilliant spot to get yourself a refreshment while older kids play, or after you’ve chased your little ones around during their soft play session. They have their very own house coffee blend roasted in partnership with Liberty Coffee… and all kinds of milk for your babyccino needs. Sanctuary Cafe doesn’t serve any hot food, but there are plenty of snacks and cakes to suit various dietary requirements. Oh and there’s booze too, should you be inclined. The bar gets buzzy on a Saturday night when they host their live music events.
All of the Sherriff Centre’s profits go back into the charity, so they can continue to support the local community. They offer free debt advice services, offering support for dealing with rent arrears, credit card debt and more. And there’s a Community Fridge on site for locals and local businesses to donate any surplus food. The Sherriff Centre also provides emergency food parcels for anyone experiencing food poverty who is referred by either the Sherriff Centre’s debt advisor, or another support service such as a social worker, doctor or other health worker. Find out more about the Sheriff Centre’s services and/or how you can get involved here.