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BCD Special Report on
Historic Churches
18th annual edition
(on a first come, first served basis) is simply on
the production of an invoice. While this scheme
does not solve the bigger problems for listed
churches, it has encouraged maintenance and
given a morale-boost to churches. However,
because the fund for this scheme has been
limited and there has been a tendency for the
efficient parishes to apply, struggling parishes
have been left behind. At the time of writing
we do not know the level of grant funding
that will be made available through Cadw
in 2011/12 for the maintenance scheme or
repair grants. It is certain the budget will be
nowhere near the figures of the last few years.
Cadw grants, in effect, provided the matched
funding for larger schemes so it is clear that
work to churches is likely to be smaller in scale
and strictly prioritised in the years ahead.
Regeneration
Congregations are now tending to focus much
more on how they can better use their assets
and the concept of the ‘multi-purpose’ church is
gaining ground. Developing churches as assets
for wider community activity also unlocks
new sources of potential support, particularly
the Welsh Government’s Community
Facilities and Activities Programme and the
Big Lottery. A number of exciting projects
have been achieved both re-ordering existing
buildings and developing new buildings
such as at St Teilo’s in Llandeilo, St Mary’s in
Menai Bridge, St John’s in Canton, Cardiff,
Dewi Sant in Abergele and St Peter’s in
Holywell. These schemes are re-inventing
churches to serve the whole community
and become landmark places once more.
Use leads to income which, in turn, ensures
repairs can be better afforded in the future.
Using churches for wider purposes does
seem to be a way forward. However, these
schemes require enormous hard work and
dedication encompassing project management,
marketing and community engagement skills.
People are often the more critical resource
than finance. To help, the Church in Wales is
developing a range of training and conference
opportunities through a Cadw/HLF funded
project called ‘Taking Forward Our Church
Heritage.’ This involves a specialist officer
developing training and guidance on a range
of key topics such as care and maintenance,
grants and finance, environmental issues,
engaging communities, etc. A key part of
this is spreading information about good
examples and successful schemes. The project
is all about building confidence in those
who care for churches so that a new future
can be found for many of our buildings with
careful thought, planning and consultation.
This approach, which could be termed the
‘regeneration’ of our churches, presents new and
interesting challenges for us all, not least the
proper conservation of our important heritage
buildings. The concept of regeneration is also
not a quick fix for all parishes, some of which
are reaching a point where they are simply not
viable. Developing ideas, assessing feasibility
and consulting others is a long process. We
have developed very effective arrangements for
making sure work to churches is appropriate
and we are investing in professional input to
such work. We need to invest also in skills
and support for the activities that take place
within those buildings and this is an area we are
currently investigating. I do believe skills and
enthusiasm exist within the organisation and
if they can be focussed and harnessed many
churches will be able to re-think their future.
That said, the redundancy of churches
will continue if for no other reason than that
we have a large number of churches often
serving small communities. However, many
of these buildings are found new viable uses
and any funds raised from sale are ploughed
back into the churches that remain. Seeing a
church close is never a happy experience but
we strive to ensure that some benefit for the
ministry and mission of the church comes
out of it. We work closely with the Friends
of Friendless Churches, which now cares for
21 former churches in Wales of the highest
heritage value. We provide an annual grant
along with Cadw to repair these buildings and
hope others can be added in the years ahead.
The Church in Wales is fortunate to
have a rich legacy of church buildings and
their care is taken very seriously by all. More
importantly, we are incredibly lucky to have
volunteers willing to devote so much time and
effort to the care of these places. The fall in
congregation numbers over the last two decades
is well documented and this makes this effort
all the more remarkable. Many assume there
will be nobody in the future to continue this
effort although I am not convinced. Call me
an optimist, but our buildings evoke a strong
reaction in so many that people will come
forward to help. The Church needs to be ready
to accept help and accept that new people may
have new ideas. The churches that survive and
prosper will be those which are rooted in their
communities and are seen not as a ‘sect’ but as a
true cross-section of the community they serve.
Further Information
www. churchinwales. org. uk
Alex Glanville
BSc(Hons) FRICS joined
the Church in Wales in 2004 and is now head
of Property Services for the Representative
Body of the Church in Wales. He trained as a
land agent at the Royal Agricultural College
and is a chartered surveyor with over 20 years
experience in managing property of all types
for charities and private landowners.
A concert by the Canton Chorus helps to extend the use of the Church of St John in Canton, Cardiff and
enhances the relevance of its architecture in this inner city area of Cardiff. (Photo: GoWalesChurches)
The new cloister walks at St David’s Cathedral, Pembrokeshire: designed by Caroe and Partners as part of a
programme to improve the cathedral’s facilities in 2007, the new walkways were built on the exposed foundations
of the original 14th century cloisters and to the same height. (Photo: Castle Photography)