8
BCD SPECIAL REPORT ON
HISTORIC CHURCHES
21ST ANNUAL EDITION
St Thomas of Canterbury, Elsfield,
(Grade II*), is a small church in a village of 100
people with no community facilities. The church
held one service a month and was at risk of
closure until it was decided that it could provide
a much-needed village asset. In 2002, the west
end was cleared of pews to create a ‘village room’,
separated from the nave by a folding oak and
glass screen. The toilet, kitchen and storage area
were housed in a new extension leading off the
village room. The rest of the nave and chancel
remained unchanged and the retained pews in
the nave can seat about 40 people, sufficient for
the congregation. The sign outside the church
now proudly states ‘Church of St Thomas
of Canterbury and Elsfield Village Room’.
At St Mary the Virgin, Chalgrove
(Grade I), it was decided to locate the facilities
at the base of the west tower so that the
spiritual atmosphere and unity of nave and
chancel is retained. The pine pews, although
unremarkable, have been repaired and retained.
With the help of two ‘pew skates’ (opposite),
designed by a member of the congregation,
the pews can be removed for special events.
They are normally placed at an angle so that
everyone can see more easily. ‘There is a sense
of being “in the round” which has enhanced
the worship,’ says the Revd Canon Ian Cohen.
‘For this church, pews are still important
and at weddings and funerals, people want
to sit on pews and feel close to each other.’
In 2012, an extension was built onto
St Agatha’s (Grade II*), Brightwell-cum-Sotwell,
to serve as a multi-function room with a
servery. Access is through the church’s south
door into a porch-style link which houses
two toilets. The church remains otherwise
unchanged, reflecting the PCC’s wish to retain
the internal architectural space. There was
also a fear that a re-ordering ‘would perhaps
cause such division within the community
that we would never achieve resolution’.
At St Edburg’s, Bicester (Grade I), the
pews were removed. The Victorian Society
initially resisted but changed its mind after
the PCC asked it to visit. Once its caseworker
had seen the poor-quality 1860s pine bench
pews and the presence of woodworm, the
Victorian Society agreed to the removal of
the pews on condition that the 1863 stone
pulpit remained in its original position.
SHARING SACRED AND
COMMUNITY SPACE
Another common challenge was managing
a building now used for both worship and
community activities. Even those who believe in
creating a building that is both an active place
of worship and a shared space that welcomes
all can find the reality a bit of a shock.
As one vicar explained, ‘People wanted
to use it for non-religious purposes and that
is great, but it does lead to some complexity’.
If a church raises all the money, it can
regulate the usage but if the plan is to go
into partnership with the wider community,
having asked for their views and having
taken their money then, as another vicar
said, ‘You have to be very sure that your
vision for the new building encompasses
the new ways in which it will be used’.
One issue that is often not completely
resolved is how to retain a quiet space for
reflection when other activities are taking place.
Often the chancel is identified as that space, or
in other cases separate soundproofed spaces
have been created for noisy activities such as
the toddlers’ group, but in some cases, for a
lot of the time, that quiet space has been lost.
However, inviting new people to use the
building means there are additional people
to look after it. New models of managing the
churches are emerging which may provide
a key to the sustainability of others.
At St Thomas’, Elsfield, the village room is
managed by a committee made up of church
members and non-churchgoing residents.
They raise funds to cover its running and
maintenance costs, currently £4,000 a year.
St John the Evangelist, Fernham, is now
managed under a 30-year repairing lease
from the diocese by the Fernham Village
Trust, which has responsibility for routine
maintenance. The PCC pays to hire it for
services and other church activities such
as weddings and funerals. The lease states
that the trust will pay 60 per cent of the
cost of any necessary major works while the
PCC will contribute 40 per cent, reflecting
the split between chancel and nave. Neil
Sutherland, chair of the project group, says
‘It is still a delightful village church and
when there is a service, the only visible
change is that the font has moved and
there are more comfortable chairs. Prior
to the conversion it was half a story; now
it has become a focus of the community’.
In October 2013, St John the Baptist,
Stadhampton, reopened as the church
and village hall following a major internal
re-ordering. An interim management
committee manages day-to-day issues
while working out how a partnership
model of management will operate.
Many projects report positive
outcomes including:
• an increase in footfall and income
• new people joining the congregation
• a stronger relationship with non-
churchgoers
• increased community harmony
• an increase in the number of people who
value the church and will help to maintain it.
Some are also finding that their new building is
not being used as much as they had hoped and
are learning how to market it more effectively.
Others are still uncertain about whether
increased use is going to bring in sufficient
income to help sustain the building in the long
term. Managing daily activities means that
running costs and administrative workloads
increase. Setting up before and clearing up after
different activities can also be time-consuming.
Further research is needed to find out
how we can measure what these projects are
delivering and whether they are providing
sustainability for the building and congregation
over the longer term. Knowing more about
the potential benefits of opening up their
church while being aware of what outcomes
it is reasonable to expect will help the
organisers of future projects to take the
necessary steps to maximise their success.
BECKY PAYNE
is a former policy officer at the
Church of England’s Cathedral and Church
Buildings Division where she helped to promote
the potential of church buildings as a resource
for the whole community. She is now a freelance
consultant on sustaining historic places of worship.
Notes
1 In England the national amenity societies
are: the Ancient Monuments Society, the
Council for British Archaeology, the Society
for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, the
Georgian Group, the Victorian Society and
the 20th Century Society. As well as English
Heritage, the relevant amenity society/-ies
must be notified when works are proposed
to a listed church.
StMarytheVirgin,Chalgrove:apewbeingmovedusingthe
specially designed pew skate (Photo: Robert Heath-Whyte)
The case studies discussed in this article can be read
in full in Becky Payne’s
Churches for Communities:
Adapting Oxfordshire’s Churches for Wider Use
,
published by the Oxfordshire Historic Churches
