Churches must diversify and adapt to stop the rot | Letters
Your editorial (2 February) was right to highlight the importance of using churches as “local anchor institutions” and to praise the National Churches Trust report calling for an expansion of the secular uses of church buildings.
In Droxford, a small Hampshire village, we have rescued our Grade I Norman church from the brink of ruin to become a thriving community hub. The church now hosts Wilfrid’s – a volunteer-run cafe open five days a week, a new bell-ringing team, a computer club, and a growing heritage centre. Thanks to the popularity of the cafe and other activities, more than £10,000 was distributed last year to the local community, with over half going towards church and churchyard projects.
We could not have achieved this outcome without investment in the church building, first to make it safe, and second to build an annexe for a kitchen and toilets. Our vision was backed by major grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund and a range of secular bodies, including Hampshire county council, and numerous small donors.
Sadly, the NCT was not among them because it insisted that our lead architect had to be “conservation accredited”, despite his relevant experience. An alliance of church officials and architects on the diocesan advisory committee also turned down our project, voting to preserve the status quo rather than adapt the building to serve the needs of the community.
The success of our project despite these setbacks shows that there is a way forward to preserve our church heritage for the benefit of all. There is still work to be done to persuade the architectural profession and the church authorities that churches must be permitted to adapt to serve their communities in the 21st century. I hope that the NCT is now ready to lead the way.
John Symes
Trustee and former chair, Friends of Droxford Church
I was alarmed to see the Guardian supporting a report published by the National Churches Trust calling for “at least £50 million” a year of public funding to be ringfenced to maintain churches.
It is true that some churches have historical, architectural, cultural and social value, and so there may be a public interest in maintaining them. But it should be noted that Church of England, likely to be the main recipient of government funding, holds significant wealth. Church Commissioners for England, the charity that manages the C of E’s funds, has assets valued at £10.3bn.
An unnecessary burden on the taxpayer should be avoided where those responsible for maintaining places of worship have the available assets to fund their own maintenance and repairs.
Stephen Evans
Chief executive officer, National Secular Society
What a great shame that some of our most magnificent buildings are struggling for life in these times of austerity. Although not a practising Christian, I always love to spend time in churches when I’m visiting places around the nation. Many, of course, have been converted to other uses. If the rot is to stop, they need to diversify, just like farmers.
There’s a long tradition of brewing and ale use in our ecclesiastical heritage, and today many churches are benefiting from the support of beer festivals. Last year a York Camra ran one in St Lawrence’s church, second only in size here to York Minster. We paid a significant rent, which is helping to enable improvements and repairs. We need events like this to make wider social use of underutilised buildings.
Karl Smith
York
It’s time that the medieval churches in the UK were renationalised. Privatised by the government in the 1530s, they were handed out to the friends and families of the establishment. Once back in state hands, their upkeep can be paid for through the rent raised from any organisation that would like to use them, be it a soft play company, the Post Office or the Church of England.
Peter Gray
Chesterfield, Derbyshire
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