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Securing a Future for Historic Places of Worship

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Securing a Future for Historic Places of Worship Inspired! Securing a future for historic places of worship English Heritage 1Waterhouse Square 138-142 Holborn London EC1N 2ST Design Atelier Works Photography Boris Baggs unless specified Print Route Product code 51220 For Now A new commission for the Inspired! campaign In the mind’s eye,in the memory-store,for now The church sets sail but stays where it was built, Its anchor hooked into the parish-heart. In the green yard,in the deep grass,for now Each summer-tide swells up and leaves the dead Untouched inside their plots of tilted earth. In the flint nave,in the window-shafts,for now The glassy saints grow limber with the sun That ripples through their robes and walk again. In the blind vault,in the dry hush,for now The coffins hoard their argosies of dust And darkness gleams as definite as light. In the slow years,in the centuries,for now The villagers arrive to load the ark That saves their lives and settles here as home. Campaign sponsor Andrew Motion Poet Laureate Protecting heritage has been our business since we were founded and it continues to be our inspiration.Those responsible for looking after our heritage need more than just an insurance policy. They need advice,guidance and expert knowledge.We're here to give just that. So we're also enthusiastic about supporting Inspired! and hope Right A Sunday service at temporary tarpaulin ceiling. that it rallies even more much- St Bartholomew’s,Churchdown, needed support. Gloucestershire,under a Contents Introduction 3 Introduction 3 In the 2006 Budget the Government showed it cared about our historic places of worship.Congregations are still celebrating the decision to extend further the Key facts 4 scheme which returns VAT on repairs to these buildings.We still seek a What is the problem? 6 permanent solution to the VAT issue but it’s good to know the politicians care. Where are the places 8 While VAT refunds are very helpful,the fact is that • Solution 3 Creating a maintenance grants scheme of worship most in need congregation sizes are decreasing,repair costs are to shrink repair bills in the longer term (£2m) and why? rising and the amount of money English Heritage Action Denominations and faiths/English Heritage can offer is falling in real terms.If nothing is done • Solution 4 Maintaining the joint English Heritage/ Solution 1 Making 10 there will be a crisis,not this year,not even next Heritage Lottery Fund Repair Grants Scheme and historic places of worship year,but in the very near future.This campaign is augmenting it with a ‘small grants’scheme fit for purpose in the about tackling the problem before we reach a crisis Action DCMS,the Heritage Lottery Fund and English 21st century and taking action to avoid it. Heritage (£4m) • Solution 5 Making sure the safety nets are in place Solution 2 Helping 12 New research which English Heritage has just for redundant places of worship congregations to help completed shows that although congregations Action DCMS,Churches Conservation Trust,English themselves valiantly manage to raise £67m each year,the Heritage and the Historic Chapels Trust yearly amount actually needed for repair and Solution 3 14 maintenance is £185m.That means there is a And what about you,what can you do about it? Maintenance grants staggering £118m annual shortfall which English Well,firstly take a little time to read this booklet Heritage and other grant-making bodies simply and understand the problem and the proposed Solution 4 Targeting 16 cannot fill and which we cannot realistically expect solutions.Recent surveys have shown that very repair grants Government to pay for. few people are aware that congregations receive so little support.Could you,for example,help by Solution 5 Getting the 18 A five-point plan to tackle the problem doing just one thing from the list on p23? You don’t safety nets in place With the Inspired! campaign English Heritage is have to have religious belief to care about these mounting the most ambitious and strategic buildings – just get involved if you want to see What can 20 attempt yet to address this problem head-on. them stay as part of your community and England’s Government do? • Solution 1 Making our places of worship fit for national heritage. purpose in the 21st century by reforming heritage What can English 21 protection legislation.We are asking Government Heritage do? for a one-off payment of £2.52m to allow us to re-write out-dated list descriptions for all grade I What can denominations 22 listed places of worship. and faiths do? Action Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) with English Heritage and the Church What can the public do? 23 of England We are asking Government for £8m a year for Where congregations 24 three years for the following: can look for help • Solution 2 Helping congregations to help themselves by appointing advisors in denominations Further information 25 to offer support and expertise (£2m) Action Denominations and faiths/English Heritage Simon Thurley Chief Executive,English Heritage Key facts worship to concerts or simply 5 wanting a quiet space.(ORB) • Parish churches are the most easily • It is estimated that: visited type of historic building There are 16,151 Church of England parish churches in England. • Legally,Church of England Parochial Approximately 13,000 (80%) of Church Councils and Churchwardens these are listed buildings. directly manage,repair and maintain There are 2,765 Catholic parish each of their buildings.This means churches and 700 other Catholic that the buildings are the responsibility churches and chapels open to the of their congregations and local public.625 (18%) of these are communities. listed buildings. The burden of looking after England’s “These are some of the most There are 5,312 Methodist chapels “England’s historic synagogues • Anglican churches falls on 32,000 in England.541 (10%) of these are express the stability of Jewish life in important and beautiful buildings church wardens and 50,000 to in all England,like dear old friends listed buildings. this country,which we are There are 1,115 United Reformed 100,000 secretaries,treasurers and or relatives in our landscape.It is celebrating this year,the350th Churches in England.290 (26%) members of Parochial Church our duty to treat them as such, are listed buildings. year since the re-establishment of Councils,none of whom are paid. with care,love and respect,and There are 1,809 churches within the the Jewish community in England Four rural counties,Lincolnshire, be interested in what they have • Baptist Union Corporation,of which (1656-2006).” Herefordshire,Norfolk and Cumbria, to show us.” 283 (16%) are listed buildings. have 1% of England’s population but Dr Sharman Kadish Jools Holland There are 30 listed synagogues Musician Director of Jewish Heritage UK 12% of England’s grade I listed in England. Anglican churches. There is one purpose built mosque listed so far,the grade II* Shah Jehan • One quarter of listed Methodist Mosque in Oriental Road,Woking chapels have a registered membership and several others now in historic of 15 or fewer. buildings listed for other reasons. • In 2005 46% of the population thought 4,200 Church of England parish central taxation,local taxation,the churches are grade I listed.This National Lottery or English Heritage constitutes 45% of all grade I should be primarily responsible for listed buildings. funding the maintenance of church • Surveys in 2003 and 2005 showed buildings.(ORB 2005) that 86% of the population visited a place of worship in the previous 12 Left page St Michael’s,Byker, This page All Saints,Beckingham, Newcastle and Crypt of St Mary Lincolnshire and Egerton Road months,for reasons ranging from Magdalene,Paddington,London. Synagogue,London. 6 What is the problem? Our research shows that: • The cost of repairs needed far outweighs the current spend • Sources of funding to bridge the gap are dwindling • The need is escalating at an alarming rate What is currently being spent and how meet the shortfall.It is equally unrealistic to expect is it raised? congregations to double their current fundraising The Church of England has responsibility for 80% efforts,nor should the burden fall solely on their of all listed places of worship in England.Of the shoulders.Places of Worship are enjoyed and £101m it spent on repairs in 2003,about £40m used by far wider communities than just regular came from grants and around £60m came from attendees.The general public should help to bear worshippers.For other denominations and some of the costs,too. faiths,we can currently only estimate a repair bill of £10m on their listed places of worship,with The overall figure of £925m over five years is not around £3m coming from grants and £7m a backlog figure that could in some way be cleared from congregations. once and for all.Thousands of ageing,complex historic buildings will continue to be expensive to Together then,England’s congregations are repair and maintain.So instead of trying to fund an heroically raising about £67m a year,or 60% of increasingly large repair bill,we must instead try to the total expenditure.But many essential repairs shrink the problem.English Heritage believes we are being over-looked,or their costs vastly can greatly reduce the annual repair bill of £185m underestimated. provided the Government gives us £8m.This is how we propose it should be spent: What is the real need? • £2m a year for annual maintenance grants distributed New research by English Heritage reveals that through the denominations for those congregations if all the necessary repairs to England’s listed least able to fund this work themselves.
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