Church Heritage Newsletter
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J u n e 2 0 2 1 St Mary's Whaddon CHURCH HERITAGE News from the Church Buildings and Pastoral Team Welcome to the newsletter from the Church Buildings and Pastoral Team, giving a quick overview of key information and updates. All the information in this newsletter is correct at the time of writing. If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact the team directly. REMINDERS Quinquennial Inspections We know that circumstances over the last year made Quinquennial Inspections difficult, but now that restrictions have been lifted it is important to arrange for any overdue inspections to be completed as soon as possible. This Diocese pays £600 towards the cost of a quinquennial inspection (QI). We will be contacting parishes in due course where QIs are either overdue or due this year. In the meantime, if you are not sure when yours is due, please contact Poppy. It is also important to keep your logbooks, maintenance plans and inventory up to date. St Peter, Old Hurst - Kevin Sims COVID-19 For the latest information concerning church buildings and Covid-19 please visit the Church of England’s website. The National Churches Trust has advice and resources on the re- opening of church buildings and engaging with new visitors: Re-opening Your Church Churches, Covid-19 and Communities: “…it really is about buildings…” The results of the “Where do we go from here? Churches, communities, and buildings during COVID and beyond" project have been published. Among the many recommendations, the report highlights the central role that buildings play in the multi-faceted contribution churches make to society. Read more on our website: Key Report Published. Church Buildings and the Post-Covid Church Sessions St Andrew, Impington During April and May, the Diocese of Worcester pulled together a range of experts to provide practical advice around a range of topics: sustaining and developing our churches adapting to new technology how we secure our buildings whilst remaining open to the community the best ways to fundraise, now and for the future. The advice is relevant to parishes across the country. Recordings of the sessions and presentations can be found here: Church Sessions. BUILDING VOLUNTEERS National Volunteers Week: A Time to Say Thanks Volunteers’ Week takes place 1-7 June every year. It's a chance to recognise the fantastic contribution volunteers make to our communities and to say thank you. Find out more about this and FREE training in volunteer management: Volunteer and Community Events In June. Focus on Volunteers We need to hear from you and yes, that does mean another survey. BUT, this one is aimed at you or the people supporting you – church building volunteers, including PCC members and churchwardens. We know that the care and management of our historic church buildings relies on volunteers. We want to make sure we are providing the right training and support for people, but to do this we need a better understanding of what it means to be a church building volunteer, particularly in light of the pandemic. The survey will be launched later this month, followed by individual and group interviews. St Peter, Cambridge - CCT GOOD NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS Grant Success for Little Paxton Earlier this year, St James in Little Paxton was one of just a few churches which had success with round two of the Cultural Recovery Fund. This grant scheme focused on revenue costs to help heritage organisations adapt to the impact of Covid-19 and prepare to welcome back visitors. Little Paxton was awarded a grant towards providing new carpet, live streaming equipment and PPE to reopen St James' church safely for its many groups and activities throughout the year. “It was a very tricky form to fill out and thanks go to Kate our treasurer for being able and willing to complete it.” The Revd Canon Annette Reed Work Starts at Wisbech St Peter and St Paul It seems hard to believe that it was 2018 when the team at Wisbech started their journey with the National Lottery Heritage Fund, back then it was still called the Heritage Lottery Fund. Thanks to the determination of the volunteers, particularly during 2020, the scaffolding is now up, repairs have begun and the local MP, Steve Barclay, has visited: “It was great to see for myself the renovation work going on at St Peter’s and St Paul’s Church in Wisbech….It’s important we look after the heritage we have inherited and pass it onto future generations in good shape.” Soham Receives National Churches Trust Grant A grant of just under £4000 might not seem worth the effort when your total repair costs exceed £2 million. But the team at St Andrew’s Soham are taking advantage of every opportunity to slow the deterioration of the building, whilst they navigate the incredibly challenging situation with funding for major repairs. Every little really does help! Read more: Soham Success. Cultural Recovery Fund It is hotly rumoured that there will be a third round of the Cultural Recovery Fund. We do not know when or what the criteria will be – if it will include a dedicated repairs fund like last summer. All we can say is be prepared as it generally has a short application window. Last year the grants for repairs were up to £25k for works costing up to £30k, so it might be a good idea to have something along those lines prepared just in case! We will share details as soon as we have them. Ss Peter & Paul, Watlington St Andrew, Soham MAINTENANCE MATTERS Maintenance Commandments A slightly abbreviated version of some top tips from Southoe St Leonard’s, a runner up at 2020's Nayler Awards for excellence in maintenance. St Clement's, Outwell 1. Designate leaders who ensure maintenance is carried out and recorded in the logbook. 2. Work closely with the inspecting architect. 3. Work together with other churches in the benefice, and share good practice and knowledge. 4. Foster the input of local volunteers across the benefice. 5. Follow a tailored maintenance plan and review and update it regularly. 6. Include a fabric report at each PCC meeting and note progress or items still to be sorted. 7. Report on fabric matters at each APCM and update on action plans following the QI inspection. 8. Ensure that sufficient funds are available for maintenance and servicing each year. 9. Be courageous when a QI throws up major issues! Develop an action plan, foster a culture of love and appreciation for your building. 10. Use social media and newsletters to keep your local community aware of the progress (and costs!) of maintenance, and to commend your wonderful building to all people, whether of faith or not, as a wonderful community asset. "Don’t give up when faced with big mountains to climb. Keep those basic tasks going... whilst a bigger project may be slowly developing behind the scenes." Read more top tips on the National Churches Trust's website. Recommended Monthly Tasks From SPAB’s Faith in Maintenance Calendar. June Inspect all windows. Check the glazing, putty, lead cames and wire ties for signs of damage. Check timberwork for signs of rot including less accessible areas such as floor and roof voids, under stairs and in cupboards. Clear any dirt from condensation drainage channels and holes at the base of windows. Remove any vermin from floor and roof voids. July Look at timber windows, doors, fascias and bargeboards. Check for cracked and rotten wood. Redecoration may be required. Clear away any plant growth from around the base of the walls and in particular from the drainage channel. Have the lightning conductor system serviced once every five years. If your building has a steeple, consider having it inspected by a steeplejack once every five years. August Take a break! St James, Little Paxton ENVIRONMENT Churches Count on Nature Many readers will be lucky enough to have a churchyard with many wildflowers that are increasingly uncommon in the wider countryside or town. With these and the trees, churchyards can attract animal life, both great and small. Ely diocese encourages churches to care for their churchyards to enhance their nature conservation. This month you can join in a national wildlife watch, a bit like the Big Garden Birdwatch, called “Churches Count on Nature.” It is 5th to 13th June, but choose a later date if need be. You can find out all about it at Caring for God’s Acre. We are promoting the Wildlife Trust’s Churchyard Conservation Award. This will guide you in what to do and motivate people with the award scheme. For more information on this and other projects please see the Environment and Sustainability pages on our website. Diana Cook is generously offering to give personal advice too. Please send your wildlife sightings in the Count to her as well - [email protected] Trees and Faculties You will know that work to churchyard trees falls under faculty. This is because trees, as well as buildings, are part of our national heritage entrusted to the church. That may feel burdensome in prospect, but, apart from felling a sound tree, tree-work is covered by the light-touch Lists A and B. List A sets out what a parish can do without reference to the diocese. In simple words, you can: Do what you want to saplings, including felling. These are defined as trees with a diameter of less than 75mm at 1.5m above the ground. Commission pruning of trees that are dead, dying or dangerous. Remove dead wood from a tree Snowdrops at Shouldham Thorpe If the trees are in a Conservation Area or have a Tree Preservation Order, you must first obtain the consent of your local authority.