PLACES OF WORSHIP Historic Places of Worship The English Heritage strategy for historic places of worship Richard Halsey Places of Worship Strategy, Implementation Manager English Heritage will be working with many partners to support local communities caring for places of worship in order to secure a future for these buildings. There are well over , listed places of in until the introduction of Government worship in England, nearly , in the care grants for places of worship in , no regular of the Church of England. The buildings range funding came from taxation. Neither do in date from the th to the th century; many the central denominational bodies regularly stand on sites that have a much longer history support fabric repairs, though a few grants and of human activity, and they contain some of the loans can be arranged locally. In particular, country’s best art and craftsmanship. As active the Church Commissioners of the Church of support declines in some areas, denominations England have no responsibility at all for existing are rationalising available human and financial parish churches; they essentially fund the clergy, support to maintain their core activities of new churches and central functions. mission and worship. Many congregations We all need to work in partnership to struggle to maintain these historic buildings, harness the huge support that exists within the which are their sole responsibility and which general population. have no realisable financial value until they It remains the task of thousands of cease to be used for religious purposes. Such volunteers to maintain and repair their places specialised buildings are not easily converted of worship, using whatever grants and advice to other uses, however, without the loss of the they can get and, most importantly, seeking the intrinsic architectural and historic interest active, as well as financial, support of the wider for which they were listed. Of at least equal community. importance, their value as the central focus of a That support is often readily given, but community and the embodiment of its history there is an uneven spread of historic church is also threatened. buildings in the population; eight rural Church It is now widely recognised that keeping of England dioceses contain % of the nation’s these buildings in use for worship, in whatever churches set within only % of the population. form that takes, and possibly in combination Something like % of parish churches are in with another subsidiary purpose, is most likely the smallest communities representing less than to secure their future (see Derrick, –). % of the population. They cannot organise There are many national and local organisations fundraising and repairs alone. devoted to maintaining historic places of Already, many professional people, such worship, which help congregations or trusts as architects and accountants, give freely of financially, but as congregations fall, concerted their time, but their help ought not to be action is needed. presumed to continue forever. Others volunteer to help in many ways (see Cooper, –). Securing the future They need guidance and support to ensure that their aspirations are fulfilled. Running a A recent survey revealed that % of people medieval parish church is quite beyond the think that central taxation and Government normal working experience of most people, are responsible for funding what are, in effect, and mistakes can be very expensive to correct, publicly accessible buildings (see Griffiths, however well intended. English Heritage would –). In fact, from the abolition of Church rates like to help train and fund people to ensure that | Conservation bulletin | Issue : Autumn English Heritage / Patricia Payne BB034234 © Church of All Saints, Newborough, Staffordshire (Grade II), by J Oldrid Scott, 1889–1902, on a medieval site. An integrated designation system will in the future facilitate recognition of the whole site value. volunteers make the most of the support and According to a survey conducted in , resources they already have. £ million is the best estimate for annual expenditure on repairs and maintenance to Rising costs places of worship per year. The same survey pointed up the wide variation in expenditure Since the introduction in of state-aid for between denominations and types of buildings, places of worship in use, between and but it also showed that a large number of buildings have been offered major repair grants congregations spent less than £, per each year. Since the establishment in of year. In one respect, this could be seen as the Heritage Lottery Fund, English Heritage encouraging, indicating that small-scale has worked in partnership jointly to offer a maintenance and cyclical repair are being total of over £ million (at prices), an addressed. On the other hand, it could indicate average of £ million per year for major works that only the symptoms, not the causes, of to all listed places of worship. In recent years, fabric problems are being attended to. the number of buildings in receipt of grant- It is notoriously difficult to discover the size aid has remained steady at around , with of the national bill for repairs or the timescale almost the same number of applicants being for getting them done. Estimating urgency and turned down for lack of funds. Many of these cost is not an exact science, being subject to grants, however, are awarded to places that an individual surveyor’s philosophy of repair as have received them before – inevitable, perhaps, much as any technical ability. In , it was if small congregations are tackling a backlog estimated that, if Government offered grants of work. It is clear, though, that many more to the value of £ million per year to listed congregations should be applying. places of worship, congregations should be Issue : Autumn | Conservation bulletin | PLACES OF WORSHIP : Historic Places of Worship able to tackle the backlog of repairs. In Church gallant few to shoulder the burden of building Needs Survey, published by English Heritage maintenance without strong external support? and the Council for the Care of Churches in Can new uses be found for these buildings to , an estimation was given – based on an ensure that they continue to play a key role in inspection of Church of England and the community? non-Anglican places of worship (not all listed) in five representative areas – that annual grants New strategy of £ million were needed to keep listed places of worship in good repair. Our Commissioners The first stage of our strategy, to be developed recently agreed to support initial work to jointly with a number of partners, will include: establish these immediate fabric needs. • Taking stock of the condition of the historic fabric, as well as the number of buildings Adapting to change with ‘fabric at risk of loss’ • Examining the feasibility of running a Ensuring that a historic building has a viable maintenance grants scheme alongside and, therefore, sustainable use is the key to established grants for major repairs keeping it in good repair. One of the great • Training people to help congregations joys of visiting churches is to understand how understand the history and significance of they have been adapted over time to match the buildings in their care contemporary forms of worship and interests. • Creating a network of advisers to help Today’s congregations also need to adapt their congregations maintain the fabric of their buildings to current needs, though re-orderings place of worship of interiors and external additions have always • Guiding congregations on the re-use and been controversial. To achieve changes that adaptation of historic places of worship, enhance rather than damage the architectural based on the experiences of the last years. character, without losing important historic fabric or fittings, requires both knowledge of the significance of what exists and the skill to design and make new work worthy of its If people understand their building, setting (see Pordham, –; Serjeant, –; they will value it; by valuing it, they O’Donnell, –; Velluet, –; Barter and will want to look after it; in caring for Hatton –; Durran, ). Such issues are, of it, they will help others enjoy it. From course, common to all historic buildings in enjoyment comes a greater thirst to use, but they become more critical for places of understand it and the ‘virtuous circle’ worship because these buildings are often the begins again. most significant in their locality and are seen to With their graveyards, rectories and be part of the surrounding community. parish halls, the parish churches of English Heritage, as the lead body in the England embody the social memory of historic environment sector, wants to secure the communities. future for as many historic places of worship We cannot expect congregations to as possible. It is the duty of English Heritage have the same needs today as they to protect the historic environment, but we did in the s. Liturgy, like any other need to have an eye on the future as well as form of etiquette, is always in a state the past to offer advice on what needs to be of subtle change. Today’s ordering done now. We are, therefore, working with certainly wasn’t yesterday’s and is very many partners to provide better information unlikely to be tomorrow’s. on the state of the historic places of worship We need to work out how we can in England. Money continues to be needed help the daily worshipper and user of to pay for essential repairs, but where should the church to understand just what it the available funds be targeted? So far, grant is about the building that they cherish schemes have been successful in putting and enjoy – what drives them to care many places of worship all over England into for it. a good state of repair.