BCD SPECIAL REPORT ON
HISTORIC CHURCHES
21ST ANNUAL EDITION
29
sheet locking systems that make it difficult
to strip a roof of its lead quickly and quietly.
It may also include community involvement
through neighbourhood watch schemes or
by displaying notices inviting members of the
public to call the police if they notice suspicious
vans or workmen between 6pm and 8am.
Visibility is another key component of
this first layer of defence. Is the building
overlooked by houses, does any vegetation need
to be cleared to provide a better view? Most
criminals can be deterred by knowledge that
the site is regularly overlooked and checked.
The second layer in the deterrence
approach is an alarm system. Its aim is to ensure
that intruders are detected and deterred the
instant they go where they should not be and
crucially, before they have done any damage.
ACCESSIBILITY
When looking at the security of a historic
church it is essential to remember that the
building is regularly open to the public and
although it may contain important historic
fabric and have a lead roof, the public needs to
be able to access the site without impediment.
There are many ways of impeding access
by would-be thieves and these can be as
simple as making sure that ladders and tools
are secured and not accessible. Looking at
the perimeter of the site, can it be ensured
that only authorised vehicles have access?
Looking at the building itself, are there
parts of the building design which might
enable easy access to the roof? A boiler house
might provide the perfect spot to climb up
onto the aisle. In these cases are there any
other physical measures that can be installed
to help deter access to the roof, such as anti-
climb paint or security lighting. The key issue
for historic churches is to ensure that any
physical intervention does not compromise
the appearance of the building, so 18ft-high
razor-wire fences are not always possible.
STRATEGY
A truly comprehensive security management
plan blends physical, electronic and procedural
aspects of protection, while respecting the
context in which it is being installed. So not only
do you look at the simple actions mentioned
above but also the protection that technology
can provide and how those people who are
responsible for the building behave. This is
fundamental to the process of developing a
comprehensive security strategy and without
internal policies and procedures – as well as
a proactive security consciousness – physical
and electronic security hardware and
features will fall short of their intended goal.
A security strategy is developed by evaluating
the assets, considering the threats against
them and developing countermeasures to
reduce their vulnerabilities. This is achieved
by layering security, both physical and
electronic, thereby creating defence in depth.
This approach to security is designed to
deter a crime in the first instance, to delay access
to and the removal of target assets and to detect
an attack at an early stage, should one occur.
Thus potential criminals, having inspected the
property, may be deterred from undertaking a
burglary by the sight of robust physical security,
intrusion sensing and external lighting. Should
they decide to proceed, physical measures
will delay access to target assets and the alarm
system will provide an early indication of attack
and may summon an effective response.
THE ALARM SYSTEM
In 2010 alarm specialists E-Bound AVX
Ltd worked with Ecclesiastical Insurance
Group (EIG plc) to refine a simple but
effective strategy for the protection of
historic church buildings as part of EIG’s
‘Hands off our church roofs’ campaign. The
three key requirements identified were:
• Wireless
: this ensures that there are no
cables and fixings marring the building,
and avoids the need to drill holes in historic
structures (including walls often over a
metre thick).
• Robust
: this means that the alarm will
The first line of defence: padlocked gates at Seend, Wiltshire display notices advising of security precautions
in use, which include roof alarms.
Tucked out of site from the surrounding houses,
areas of lead roof like this, on a church in the diocese
of Durham, are easy prey without an alarm.
A control panel and sounder in a church tower: as all
the detectors are wireless and battery powered, this is
the only cabling required.
