THE “priceless heritage” of “historic and beautiful” churches in England is in danger “as never before”, the chair of the National Churches Trust (NCT), Sir Philip Rutnam, has warned this week.
He was referring to the fact that 53 churches, chapels, and meeting houses had been added this year to Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register, announced last week.
Sir Philip said that the situation could get worse in the coming months if the Government chose not to renew the Listed Places of Worship Grants Scheme, which is due to expire on 31 March 2025 (News, 25 October). Under the terms of the scheme, established in 2001, VAT on eligible repairs or alterations costing more than £1000 to a listed place of worship can be reclaimed.
The question of its renewal was raised in the House of Lords last week by the Bishop of St Albans, Dr Alan Smith, who described the scheme as a “lifeline” for historic places of worship, which were also used by schools and as concert venues, he said. “We have to raise, voluntarily, tens of millions of pounds, and we really need to find ways to help very many pressurised local communities.”
Responding, Baroness Twycross said that departmental budgets had been set after the Budget last month, and that “The outcome of individual programmes such as the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme will now be assessed during the departmental business-planning process.”
Sir Philip said: “Our fear is that many of the new churches and also those already on the register will be simply left to rot and decay, as there is a desperate shortage of money to look after this heritage.”
National Churches TrustThe National Churches Trust map of at-risk buildings by constituency
There are 969 places of worship deemed by Historic England to be at risk of closure. New entries this year include Holy Trinity, Kendal, described on the parish website as “the heritage of the people of Kendal”. Many new additions to the list are ancient churches, such as St Botolph’s, Hardham, in West Sussex. The small rural church, dating from the late 11th century, has an almost complete set of early-12th-century frescos — whose deteriorating condition has caused the building to be placed on the list.
Not all the new entries are ancient buildings, however. All Saints’ and Martyrs’, Langley, Rochdale, in Greater Manchester, was built in 1963 in what is described as “post-war international style, with a strong emphasis on flexible worship and used by a newly formed overspill housing estate community”. Here, as in other entries, storm damage and water ingress are reported.
Most but not all of the newly listed places of worship are C of E churches. The thatched roof of the cob-built Quaker meeting house in the village of Come-to-Good, near Truro, is identified as leaking and in need of renewal, and there is insect damage to the pine internal fittings. The highest level of urgency is indicated on the register, as there is “immediate risk of rapid deterioration and loss of fabric”.
Analysis of the list by the National Churches Trust concludes that more than 60 per cent of all MPs in England have a church, chapel, meeting house, or cathedral on the Register in their constituency. This includes the three main party leaders: the Prime Minister (ten in Holborn and St Pancras); Kemi Badenoch (three in north-west Essex); and Sir Ed Davey (one in Kingston and Surbiton). Constituencies with the most historic churches at risk are all Conservative: South Shropshire (19), Louth and Horncastle (19), and Melton and Syston (17).
Creative CommonsNational Churches Trust funding in 2024 helped to remove seven churches from the register, including St Pancras Old Church, Camden
NCT funding in 2024 helped to remove seven churches from the register: St Thomas’s, Dudley, in the West Midlands; St George’s, Kidderminster, in Worcestershire; St Pancras Old Church, Camden, in London; St Stephen’s, Etton, and All Saints and St Andrew, Kingston, both in Cambridgeshire; St Mary’s, Buckland, in Oxfordshire; and Christ Church, Mount Pellon, in West Yorkshire.
“We hope to save more in future years,” the NCT’s chief executive, Claire Walker, said. “But we are seeing more and more churches in financial distress. Demand for our grants is now so high that, in 2024, we could only fund one in four grant applications that we received.”
She continued: “Everybody can see for themselves the beauty of historic churches. Less well known is the fact that churches contribute £55 billion a year to the UK in social good. They also provide preventative health and social support that would cost the NHS an additional £8.4 billion a year to fund — a figure equal to employing 230,000 nurses.
“What is needed is a national plan to repair and save more of England’s churches, bringing together the Government, Christian denominations, and heritage bodies, so that money can be effectively targeted at churches at risk.”
Sir Philip concluded: “We understand that a decision about the future of the scheme will be made by the Department for Culture Media and Sport [DCMS] in the next few months. The spending settlement that the DCMS received from the Chancellor in the Budget is less generous than some other Government departments, and tough spending decisions lie ahead.
“If the VAT scheme which has been in place in its current form since 2004 is not renewed, the costs of repairing a historic church to enable it to stay open would increase by one fifth.”