HISTORIC
CHURCHES PRESERVATION TRUST
Background
The
Historic Churches Preservation Trust is the only national charity offering funds
to communities for essential repairs to the fabric of churches and chapels in
England and Wales, regardless of denomination and grade. It was founded in 1953,
and since then has awarded over
£25 million to more than 12,000 churches.
It receives no financial assistance from either government or the church
authorities, and survives entirely on voluntary contributions.
The work of the Trust
In
our throw-away, short-term society, the concept of giving money for the repair
of ancient churches is often misunderstood. It can be perceived that this is to
do with the fusty preservation (as in aspic) of buildings that have outlived
their usefulness to society. Nothing could be further from the truth.
These
buildings are critically important on several different levels; this is not
just about “bricks and mortar”, but perhaps more about “bricks and
mortals”:
The
Holy. Around 12 million people make
tourist visits to our nation’s churches each year. Very often they will sign
the visitors’ book with comments about the peace and tranquility of the
church. Churches fulfill an important spiritual role, not just through the
provision of formal religious services. They are havens for quiet meditation,
prayer and thought in a world that can often seem to have gone mad. It is not
for nothing that many churches witness a large increase in visitors at times of
national or international tension and crisis.
The
Community. In many rural areas, recent
years have witnessed the progressive demise of shops, pubs, banks and post
offices. These same areas are, in some cases, reeling from the joint shocks
of a relentless deterioration in the rural economy and a reduction in the number
of tourist visitors because of international tensions. Sometimes the church is
the only public building still left open in such communities. Equally, in inner
city areas, the church can often be found filling a crucial social role,
providing support to the homeless, drug and alcohol dependents, one parent
families, and many more vulnerable people. In both these cases, the church’s
importance to its community is not just to those who attend services; the church
is the epicenter
of its community; geographically, socially, emotionally and spiritually. And in
most cases, once a week the bells ring out to the world as if to proclaim:
“Look! Here is a living, thriving community!”
The
People. Our churches, whether large or
small, whether grand or humble, whether ancient or more recently built, are all
about people. It is impossible to visit a church without thinking about the
people who designed and built it, maintained it, repaired, embellished and
modified it, worshipped in it, were baptised, married and buried in it, in some
cases over a period of more than ten centuries. In many churches the very stones
seem to speak to us of times past, of events and people. And if we are ever
tempted to look upon the architecture and forget the people, the gravestones,
tombs, monuments and mausoleums of individuals and families constantly bring us
back to this fundamental fact. A visitor from outer space, if he visited the
16,000 churches in England and Wales and studied them, would be able to make a
fair attempt at recreating the sweeping history of these countries and the
people that created them. These
churches are our history, our culture and our art, all in one building.
The
Treasures. On the final level are the
bricks and mortar themselves, and the often irreplaceable contents which they
contain and protect. Whilst these buildings are nothing without the people, it
is the coming together of the architecture and the people that makes the work of
the HCPT so absorbing and so vitally important. The treasure that is the
building itself can take the breath away, and can be enjoyed on so many
different levels. Among our churches are grand soaring buildings in some cases
larger than cathedrals; tiny thatched buildings with no tower nor spire;
foundations from Saxon times and churches built in the dynamic industry of the
19th
century. Each church is a unique joy; there are the pretty; the awe-inspiring;
the eccentric; the utilitarian; those that stand as monuments to the flowering
of a particular age of architecture, and those that look not so much as though
they have been built upon the ground, but grown up out of it. And they all share
two things in common – they were all built to the glory of God, and they are
all in daily use.
The
Challenge
No charity can expect to
survive or attract donations unless it can be specific about the need that it is
trying to fulfill. In 2005, the churches which applied to HCPT were facing
repair bills totalling £31.6 million – over £38 million if the cost of
projects to install new and disabled facilities are included. Large
though this total is, English Heritage has estimated that the real bill for all
outstanding works required is over £370 million! The Trust
receives approximately 600 enquiries per year which turn into around 300 grant
awards in a typical year. The average cost of work in 2005 was a staggering £128,000
per church, which is the more startling when it is realised that a
third of the applications are from communities with a total population of 500 or
less. >From their own resources and
local fundraising, churches raised an astonishing £6.9 million – an amazing
proclamation of the love of the community for its building and a glowing
testimony to the success of thousands of church fetes, bring and buys, cake
stalls, jumble sales and coffee mornings. By the time most churches make their
application to HCPT, they have already a great deal of successful fundraising
under their belt, but are looking to raise a further £7.4m to be able to start
their project. Against this, HCPT has less than £2m to offer. This stark figure
shows the scale of the challenge HCPT faces; for many communities, having
to raise a further £20,000 is so daunting that it might as well be £200,000.
As
if this was not enough, the costs per year are rising far faster than the rate
of inflation, as a result of high labour rates, shortages of craft skills and
traditional materials; Health and Safety legislation; theft, vandalism and
insurance premiums; conservation, architectural, archaeological and wildlife
requirements. And finally with Diocesan Quotas and parish shares rising,
congregations static or falling, and populations more transient and less
committed to their communities, the ability to pay for these higher bills is
under more threat than for very many years.
The
Limitations
Faced
with a situation where the demand for funds is increasing inexorably, the
availability of funds on a national basis is decreasing and the cause is perhaps
becoming less fashionable, HCPT has had to focus its help only on the most
deserving cases. The repairs must be to the essential fabric of the building;
the community is expected to use most of its own free reserves before seeking
the Trust’s help; the work has to be of an urgent nature and professionally
specified; the church is expected to apply to English Heritage/Heritage Lottery
Fund if it qualifies for a grant under the terms of their joint repair scheme;
the cost must be beyond the means of the community, and the work must not have
started when the Trust receives the application form. There are many projects
which the Trust would like to support, but cannot currently because of lack of
funds.
The
Threat
Most
communities manage eventually to maintain their buildings to a minimal standard,
but the challenge is becoming greater with the passing of each year. Although
the rate at which churches were being made redundant slowed after 1997, in the
autumn of 2002 the Churches Conservation Trust (formerly the Redundant Churches
Fund) publicly warned that the numbers were about to increase again in a major
way. This warning came at a time when the government was showing signs of being
less committed to the sector. HCPT generally believes that a church is far
better kept open and being looked after by its community, but in some cases the
community is now so small for the size of its church that it is difficult to see
how long some churches can remain open. If churches are made redundant, it is
only the very best Grade 1 churches that are likely to be rescued by the
Churches Conservation Trust and therefore preserved as church buildings. The
fate for the remainder is bleak indeed.
How
can you help?
Become
a Friend of HCPT
A
minimum subscription of £15 per year (£25 in the first year) will keep you up
to date with the Trust’s activities and progress, through the Review
of the Year and Newsletter.
Send a donation
Even
the smallest donations coming to the Trust are more than welcome, as together
with all other donations they mean we can help keep another church alive. If you
can afford to send a donation more regularly, the Trust can supply a banker’s
order form. Donations can be made via the leaflets displayed in the church or by
the Trust’s website listed below. Please don’t forget to
sign the Gift Aid declaration if you are a UK taxpayer, as this means that the
Trust can reclaim 28p from HM Customs and Revenue for every £1 donated, without
further cost to you.
Remember
us in your will
A high proportion of the
Trust’s income comes in the form of bequests from donors. This generosity is a
very tangible and living memorial. Leaving a legacy is very simple, and the
Trust has prepared a short leaflet, explaining how to do this.
Contact
Details
Historic
Churches Preservation Trust
31 Newbury Street
London EC1A 7HU
Tel:
020 7600 6090
Fax: 020 7796 2442
Web:
www.historicchurches.org.uk
Email: info@historicchurches.org.uk