MONGEWELL ST. JOHN’S MARCH 2021 CHURCH PLAN Part A - Current Report Part B - Survey Results of our open survey conducted in Summer and Autumn 2020, canvassing all community contacts for their reaction to Part A. The survey remains open and available at this location. Please feel free to repeat your survey response or complete the survey for the first time. Part C - Community Recommendations Minutes of any community meetings held to discuss the information available in other parts of the Church Plan. Part D - Action Plan Details of any actions agreed through Community Recommendations, assigned to community participants, Churches Conservation Trust staff, or to the Churches Conservation Trust Local Community Officer specifically. Part A - Current Report Church Introduction & Statement of Significance St John the Baptist's Church is a closed, redundant Anglican church, partly in ruins, in what has reverted to the hamlet of Mongewell, Oxfordshire. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. The ruins stand on the east bank of the River Thames, next to the former Carmel College, to the north of Mongewell Park, 2.5 miles south of Wallingford, and near The Ridgeway long-distance path. The church dates probably from the 12th century. It was remodelled in picturesque Gothick style for Rt. Rev. Shute Barrington late in the 18th century. Barrington was Bishop of Durham and the penultimate with highly exceptional great non-church powers, namely by the position being one of Palatinate Prince-Bishop. When he died in 1826, he was buried in the family vault in the church. The church was restored under the direction of the architect Lewis Wyatt in 1880. It was designated a Grade II listed building on 9 February 1959. The church was declared redundant on 1 July 1981 and was vested in the Churches Conservation Trust on 31 July 1985. The church consists of a nave and a chancel with a west tower. It is built of flint with stone dressings. Brick buttresses support the nave walls. The tower is brick and the chancel roof is tiled. The nave has no roof. The lower part of the tower is round and the upper part is hexagonal with a battlemented parapet. The chancel is Norman style, and contains two 18th-century monuments. One of these consists of a tomb with the effigy of a man dressed in "Eastern costume" including a turban. Current use (bookings) & voluntary activity Situated in the grounds of a mysterious and atmospheric abandoned estate and at the start of the popular Ridgeway ancient path, the church at Mongewell is a popular destination for church tourists and, as one of three Trust sites at Wallingford, is extremely well looked after by its local voluntary supporters. Their efforts in recent years have resulted in a successful tea 2 party, a history walk and picnic, regular cleaning parties at the church and clearance of the church yard and, remarkably for such a tiny building, very well attended services at Christmas and Harvest. The flexibility of access to the site has also resulted in occasional filming contract, including for the BBC’s Little Drummer Girl and for ITV’s Midsummer Murders, both of which bookings relied on the generous support of neighbours who helped liaise with film crews throughout. In terms of private hire, Mongewell has also been booked for a wedding photo-shoot, adding to its profile as a site popular in the field of digital creativity. Voluntary activity undertaken by three local residents includes ● Unlocking and locking ● Cleaning days annually ● Remittance of wall safe and service funds ● Planning and delivery of all bookings including services ● Ad hoc reporting of building change Collection Review Open Churches Policy status: Open Local Community Officer: Patrick Joel Current project: None Twice annually, led by volunteers in accordance with CCT Cleaning schedule: guidelines Maintains stock of current leaflets (note unavailability of future Welcome table: leaflets for re-stock) Keyholder role: Fulfilled Fulfilled (remittances, CCT liaison, volunteer management, Key representative role: maintenance reporting) Area volunteer role: Surplus to requirements Fundraising roles: Vacant and necessary 3 Stewardship roles: Surplus to requirements Research, interp & talks role: Vacant and necessary Accessibility details: Provided via website CCT silver plaque: Installed CCT information board: Not installed, overdue (for affix to noticeboard) Oak post: Not installed, not needed CCT freestanding board: Not installed Wall safe poster: Installed, current CCT A board: Not installed Gift Aid envelopes: Provided Visitor book: Installed Building services: None Parking: Limited, two spaces 50 yards from church yard Organ: None Churchyard: Not owned by CCT, not maintained by Local Authority Ringable bells: No Pews: None Fire rated capacity: 20 Seating capacity: 60 Site plan: Unavailable Roof alarm: Uninstalled CCTV: Uninstalled Individual item security measures: Uninstalled Ribizli Cafe, Wallingford St. Peter’s, Wallingford Castle Gardens, Cholsey-Wallingford Railway, Wallingford, Museum, St. Mary’s Nearby attractions: Wallingford, St. Mary’s Newnham Murren Social media presence: Nil Images on CCT website: One of four Regular feature parish news: No Services per year: 1 CofE support for services: Yes Christmas memory tree: No Tea Party: No Heritage Open Days: No Ride & Stride: No 4 No. For further information, please see Champing introduction Champing: and typical church income at appendix 4. Retail: No Risk assessment general: Current Risk assessment fire: Current COSHH listing: Current Portable appliance listing: Current Security Audit: Current Children’s explorer cart: No, surplus to requirements Children’s trail: No Conservation reports Annualised maintenance costs (Exclusive of VAT): Annualised maintenance costs express the total costs of church maintenance divided by 25 years. Every cost which relates to maintenance is included except the twice-yearly maintenance visit. Any anticipated repairs are also excluded. A list of typical maintenance tasks for any historic church, forecast over the period, is available to view at appendix 2. £2,392.44 Routine maintenance costs: (Per annum and exclusive of VAT): Total cost of two maintenance visits per year exclusive of any additional maintenance items included above. A list of the maintenance tasks included in the twice-annual maintenance visits is available to view at appendix 3. £552.00 Other maintenance costs (Exclusive of VAT): Additional maintenance needs discovered during twice-yearly maintenance visits, costed and listed individually below. £350.00 Remove moss from roof slopes £250.00 Check CCT sign and remove if damaged £15.00 Get key for base of tower (allowing for locksmith as worst case) £85.00 Total short term repairs: £10,450.00 5 Small scale items of limited cost which could be fulfilled with minimal fundraising. Steeplejack survey of the tower £2,300.00 Improve chancel ventilation £2,450.00 Rainwater goods and tower spout £5,750.00 Total medium term repairs: More expensive needs such as roof repairs and tower repairs which may require more involved fundraising and grant applications. £51,500.00 Brick wall and buttress repairs, wall top repairs £34,500.00 Various repairs to external walls £9,500.00 Reset footpath £7,500.00 Total long term repairs: Items which are known to require works in the longer term but which are not essential in the near future. £70,250.00 Re-tile chancel roof £55,000.00 Conservators report on the monuments £1,500.00 Window and door repairs (frames glazing doors etc.) £13,750.00 Total desirable repairs: Repairs which are not essential to the conservation health of the church but which might improve aesthetics or usability of the building. £0.00 All cost figures are estimates, exclusive of VAT and professional fees VAT is charged at 20% of the total costs and can sometimes be recovered. Professional fees vary, but are either charged at an hourly rate or as a percentage of the total project cost. These are usually charged only on larger 6 or more complex projects. Income, Expenditure & Balances Income Wall Safe Total Income 2019/20 £14 £14 2018/19 £0 £100 2017/18 £139 £397 2016/17 £514 £1720 2015/16 £123 £473 2014/15 £0 £450 Visitors Wall safe income per visitor 2019-20 3665 £0.00 2018-19 3801 £0.00 2017-18 5136 £0.03 2016-17 5742 £0.09 2015-16 3124 £0.04 2014-15 2850 £0.00 7 8 Expenditure Total spend since vesting 31st July 1985 (non maintenance): £99,416 Conservation (repair) expenditure Maintenance expenditure 2019-20 £0 £648 2018-19 £0 £699 2017-18 £0 £512 2016-17 £0 £739 2015-16 £0 £0 2014-15 £660 £930 Balances The restricted balance is the amount of money which has been covenanted or restricted for expenditure at the church. Any expenditure needs to match the terms of the covenant under which the money was donated, for example, a term expressing that a donation is intended for roof repairs only. Restricted Balance Report Jul 19 £0 Income less expenditure 2019/20 -£634 Income less annualised maintenance 2019/20 -£2,378.44 Local Community Officer’s Summary This extremely atmospheric church benefits from the support of regularly active community participants living nearby. Members of the community support the church through cleaning and two well-attended services each year. There may be an opportunity to review the level of contribution from congregants’ collections by publicising information about the repair and maintenance needs of this much-loved local place. This message could be amplified through 9 regular updates to the parish newsletter and inclusion of church reports at parish council meetings. Interest in the site and use by schools nearby may also enable the community to communicate church needs to pupils’ parents, and extend offers of booked use to this prospective audience for alternative uses.