The Building Conservation Directory SPECIAL REPORT Magazine 31st Edition
Halo has been specially designed to fit and preserve the heritage aesthetic whilst heating people comfortably, affordably, and efficiently. Halo offers zero light radiant heating in the form of an elegant chandelier with optional integrated lighting. Halo: Registered UK Design No. 6321585 Sustainable radiant heating proven to significantly reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions in the transition to Net Zero by 2030. “The radiant heaters, which we now use entirely and have done throughout the winter period for our Sunday morning worship services, is only about £10 for an hour and a half to two hours on a Sunday morning. It is so low that it’s a no-brainer if I may say that we should use the radiant heaters.” - Andrew Wood, St. Matthew’s The Church of England Environment Programme commissioned Tobit Curteis Associates and Inspired Efficiency to carry out a Performance Review of Halo at St Matthew’s in Bristol. Findings include: * Halo shows significant savings over gas heating despite higher electricity prices. Figures from St Matthew’s installation, as per independent performance evaluation. Dependent upon the property age/type, insulation levels and levels of airflow present, the number of heaters required and running times will vary. Based on renewable electricity tariff Herschel Heritage Range St Michael’s Halo Video Testimonial St Michael’s, Aynho, share the results of their Halo installation. SCAN TO WATCH Church of All Saints, Martock 7.8kW Halo installed in Lady chapel Reduction in CO2 Emissions 100% Reduction in Energy Bills* 50% Reduction in Energy Usage 85% 30mins Time To Warm Up ‘The Halo system appears to be a suitable addition to the range of decarbonised heating solutions for churches to consider.’ ‘Significant energy, carbon and cost savings were noted.’ ‘The congregation of St Matthew’s Church were unanimously positive regarding the visual appearance of the units.’ ‘With careful positioning, the chandelier design can provide comfort heating for people in the church while limiting the conservation risk to sensitive artefacts and monuments.’ Halo forms part of the Herschel Heritage Range, which includes column, ceiling and wall mounted heaters, as well as under pew heating solutions. Optional bespoke colours and decorative designs are available. Control options include InfraSense, our revolutionary new patented control technology. Halo can form part of a whole church heating solution or provide a modular solution to work alongside existing heating systems. For further information and assistance, visit: www.herschel-infrared.co.uk/heating-heritagebuildings/churches/ Contact our Heritage Team: 0117 3253850 heritage@herschel-infrared.com
BCD SPECIAL REPORT ON HISTORIC CHURCHES 31st ANNUAL EDITION 1 CONTENTS THE BUILDING CONSERVATION DIRECTORY SPECIAL REPORT ON HISTORIC CHURCHES 31st annual edition ISBN 978 1 912747 21 4 PUBLISHED BY Cathedral Communications Limited High Street, Tisbury, Wiltshire SP3 6HA Tel 01747 871717 Email admin@buildingconservation.com www.buildingconservation.com EDITORS Jonathan Taylor Robyn Pender PUBLICATIONS MANAGER Joanna Collie EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Emma Heard PUBLIC RELATIONS Elizabeth Coyle-Camp PRODUCTION & ADMINISTRATION Lynn Green Lydia Porter ADVERTISING Nicholas Rainsford Carla Winchcombe TYPESETTING xendo PRINTING Micropress Printers Ltd The many companies and specialist groups advertising in this Building Conservation Directory Special Report have been invited to participate on the basis of their established involvement in the field of building conservation and the suitability of some of their products and services for ecclesiastical buildings work. Some of the participants also supply products and services to other areas of the building market which have no application in the building conservation field. The inclusion of any company or individual in this publication should not necessarily be regarded as either a recommendation or an endorsement by the publishers. Although every effort has been made to ensure that information in this book is correct at the time of printing, responsibility for errors or omissions cannot be accepted by the publishers or any of the contributors. © Copyright 2024 Cathedral Communications Limited All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recordings, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Cathedral Communications Limited. COVER ILLUSTRATION The pulpit at St Peter’s, Bournemouth – see GE Street article, page 37 (Photo: Jonathan Taylor) £7.50 3 NEWS REVIEW 6 GRINLING GIBBONS AND COLOUR Lee Prosser 10 WHERE SOME DOORS CLOSE OTHERS STAY OPEN Helen Richards 15 UNDER THE WEATHER Storm damage repairs and mitigation Richard Martin 17 SAVING THE GLASGOW NECROPOLIS Ruth Johnston 23 BIODIVERSITY IN CHURCHYARDS Autumn Barlow 27 CLOSURE AND REUSE The evolving procedures of the Church of England Adrian Browning 33 MOD CHURCHES Joanna Collie 37 GE STREET and the dawn of the Gothic Revival Jonathan Taylor 41 DECARBONISING CHURCHES Adele Walker 44 USEFUL CONTACTS 46 PRODUCTS & SERVICES 52 SPECIALIST SUPPLIERS INDEX
For further information please contact us: T: 01347 838881 Search: York Handmade Brick E: sales@yorkhandmade.co.uk @yorkhmadebrick SENSITIVELY PRESERVING BRITAIN’S BUILT HERITAGE York Handmade Brick is an award-winning UK based manufacturer of genuine handmade clay bricks, pavers, special shapes and terracotta floor tiles, which are perfect for recreating building tradition in a modern environment. York Handmade has a proud record of success in the annual BDA Brick Awards competition. It was the overall winner with St Brigid’s Church in 1995 and has continued along that route for the past 25 years. Some highlights have been the Belvedere, in Queen Elizabeth’s garden at Dumfries House, Scotland pictured above and more recently, the new Central Library and Archive in Halifax, as well as the new Westgate Oxford shopping centre in Oxford. These schemes just illustrate the diversity of the projects with which York Handmade is involved, due to the company’s ability to produce colours, shapes and sizes to suit most requirements.
BCD SPECIAL REPORT ON HISTORIC CHURCHES 31st ANNUAL EDITION 3 NEWS REVIEW NEW BLUEPRINT FOR CHURCHES IN NEED The National Churches Trust has published a nationwide plan, Every Church Counts, to help secure the future of the hundreds of churches facing closure across the UK. In 2023, there were another 53 places of worship added to Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register, taking the total number to 943. A similar story exists in Scotland with 182 buildings currently at risk and plans by The Church of Scotland to close up to 40 per cent of its churches. While Wales does not produce a comparable list it is worth noting that a quarter of its historic churches and chapels have closed in the last decade and another quarter are deemed to be at risk. The blueprint for Every Church Counts calls on the government, heritage organisations and Christian denominations to work together to help tackle the biggest single heritage challenge we face. Broken down into six points, the plan calls for the creation of professional support roles to aid volunteers looking after ecclesiastic buildings; engagement with national services such as the NHS to offer spaces Every Church Counts is an NCT blueprint to help save many British churches facing closure. (Photo: National Churches Trust) that can be used by local communities; ringfenced annual funding of £50 million for major repairs; a new national strategy working with local tourism organisations to boost visitor numbers; expanding opening hours to enable better community use and for facilities such as foodbanks and nursery care; making it all happen by bringing together everyone needed to facilitate long term change. The National Churches Trust is urging everyone interested in historic buildings to get involved. You can read more about the plan here: www.nationalchurchestrust.org/ everychurchcounts HISTORIC CHURCHES GOES DIGITAL Cathedral Communications’ magazine Historic Churches is now being distributed digitally. This is an exciting new development for the publication. It allows the publication to become more sustainable and to reach a wider audience, especially in smaller parishes and religious communities that need support with their church buildings. We’ll still be printing and sending out 2,000 copies but by also distributing a digital version it will be accessible to even more people involved in caring for ecclesiastical buildings. There are currently around 17,000 listed places of worship in England and Wales alone, and it has never been possible to post physical copies to every single one of them. All of them can now receive a copy digitally. If you know of someone who would like to receive one by email please ask them to sign up at www.buildingconservation.com/sign-up.
4 BCD SPECIAL REPORT ON HISTORIC CHURCHES 31st ANNUAL EDITION £100 MILLION FUNDING FOR UK PLACES OF WORSHIP It has been announced that over the next three years the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) expects to invest £100 million in places of worship in the UK. First, £15 million has been set aside to support strategic projects that make an impact at a regional or national level (see http://bc-url.com/hc24-hf1). The NLHF is now inviting organisations to devise and deliver such projects. As well as being of interest to national and regional church bodies, there may also be opportunities for county and regional preservation trusts to take part in developing and delivering schemes. Second, the Heritage Fund has announced anticipated funding of £85m for individual places of worship across the UK over the next three years. To achieve this, the NLHF wants to encourage individual places of worship to apply for grants – see http://bc-url.com/hc24-hf2. In response to the consultation it undertook last year, NLHF says that the grant requirements have been simplified. Applications will be looked at on the basis of four investment principles: • saving heritage • protecting the environment • inclusion, access and interpretation and participation • organisational sustainability. Applicants can lean towards one of these if they want, but they will need to respond to all four on some level. For a small congregation looking for Heritage Fund funding, one of the biggest problem is time and expertise, as demand for grant aid inevitably outstrips the supply. Often it is the best-presented case that wins, and a small congregation may struggle to compete with larger and better-funded heritage bodies. Rather than reintroducing a dedicated grant scheme specifically designed to support this acutely underresourced corner of the heritage sector, NLHF requires churches to apply through the existing grant programmes, open to any type of heritage. However, it has indicated that it wants to provide more support for applicants. As funding decisions are being devolved more to regional teams it is important to make contact with the Fund in advance of applying in order to receive feedback on early proposals. AVERTING CLOSURES IN THE DIOCESE OF LINCOLN Faced with an annual financial deficit of £3 million, the Diocese of Lincoln has consulted all its benefices on the future of their churches and the findings have been published in Resourcing Sustainable Church: A Time to Change – Together (see http://bc-url.com/hc24-n1). While some churches are thriving and able to fully meet their local community’s financial and spiritual needs, many report difficulties in raising the necessary funds needed for the spiralling costs of building maintenance and insurance, as well as recruiting lay officers and PCC members. As not all churches can deliver the same range of ministries or be equally resourced, all 622 churches in the diocese have been categorised into one of the following: Key Mission Churches (20), Local Mission Churches (110), Community Churches (272), Festival Churches (190), and Closed or Closing Churches (23). Community churches are those ‘whose community or active worshippers cannot support the full parish church role of the key mission and local mission churches but is keen to keep open with some regular prayer and worship, with a good lay team to help deliver this, and to serve as a focus for the community, and for baptisms, weddings and funerals, and celebrations at key points of the liturgical year where possible.’ Festival churches as described by the diocese ‘may be open for private prayer, used for a variety of community purposes, offer baptisms, weddings and funerals as part of their LMP, and may be a location for special “festival” events – harvest, carols, songs of praise, mission activities.’ In other words, only one in four of the Church of England’s places of worship in this geographical area are Churches in the Diocese of Lincoln by category able to support the full traditional parish church role, and most will be relying on broad community involvement in the future, whether as community or festival churches. While the proportion facing closure is low (4%), the picture is likely to be replicated across many other dioceses, and it will inevitably include some historic buildings, churchyards and monuments of great cultural value. CLOSED OR CLOSING CHURCHES (23) KEY MISSION CHURCHES (20) FESTIVAL CHURCHES (190) COMMUNITY CHURCHES (272) LOCAL MISSION CHURCHES (110)
BCD SPECIAL REPORT ON HISTORIC CHURCHES 31st ANNUAL EDITION 5 THE ASSOCIATION OF FESTIVAL CHURCHES LISTED PLACES OF WORSHIP GRANT SCHEME – 2001–2025? The Listed Places of Worship (LPW) Grant Scheme, established in 2001, is currently in place until March 2025, but its future beyond that date is uncertain as the government is currently looking at reducing expenditure in many areas. Under the scheme, grants are awarded to cover VAT on any repairs to listed buildings throughout the UK that are used as places of worship. The focus of the funding, run by DCMS, is to help with the conservation of our ecclesiastical heritage, which includes many of the UK’s most important historic buildings. (Indeed, 45% of all Grade I-listed buildings are churches.) Last year over 5,000 buildings received a share of £42 million of government funding. The grants have helped towards the costs of repairs of a range of listed buildings both large and small, and have been an invaluable source of funding for many. This includes 11th-century Chichester Cathedral which received more than £195,000 for roof and lighting projects, a new alarm system and organ repair and maintenance. A smaller grant awarded to St Mary’s Church in Hitchin allowed the team to pay for £5,000 of work on their church bells. Other grants awarded to them previously have helped replace crumbling stonework, repair leaking roofs and gutters, and have contributed to the installation of a roof alarm. To help save this critical grant scheme, people of all denominations are invited to use a form on the website of the Catholic Church – see www.cbcew.org.uk/listedWhere a church or chapel is facing redundancy but is valued by the local community, a soft option introduced by the Church of England is to limit church services to key religious events only. These would include Christmas, Easter and remembrance day services, the harvest festival, weddings, baptisms and funerals among others. (Interestingly, to qualify as a place of worship for the LPW Grant scheme above, only six services need to be held per year.) No regular weekly services are held, but the building must be made available to the wider community for secular events too. The aim is to spread support for the care and maintenance of the building beyond the congregation alone. A new organisation has recently been established to advise and support everyone involved. The Chair of the Association is Sir Tony Baldry, and Nigel Mills has recently been appointed as the Festival Churches Development Officer. Their website, www.festivalchurches.org.uk, provides a few case studies which will be of interest to anyone considering this option, and more information is being added. Chichester Cathedral is one of hundreds of places of worship which have benefited from the LPW Grant Scheme to reduce the cost of repair works, inside and out. (Top photos: Chichester Cathedral. Bottom photo: Ash Mills) places-of-worship-grant-scheme/. (The first step involves submitting your name and postcode so it can generate an email addressed to your local MP.) The email, which may be edited by you, asks your MP to relay your concerns with Lisa Nandy, Secretary of State for the Department for Culture Media and Sport, and asking her to renew the LPW Grant Scheme.
6 BCD SPECIAL REPORT ON HISTORIC CHURCHES 31st ANNUAL EDITION GRINLING GIBBONS and COLOUR Lee Prosser WOODWORK IS an integral part of the church interior. We have become used to the rich, dark colour of oak on pews, doors, screens and pulpits, now much varnished and waxed to within an inch of their lives. In the past however, colour was king, as we know from the polychrome traces on the stonework of great cathedrals. A sense of this survives on painted church screens and roof timbers. If we add to this the lost stained-glass windows and wall paintings, then colour must have permeated our churches. It is difficult to determine when the fashion for plain wood originated, but the picture is probably not straightforward. Even by the early 17th century some houses enriched their panelling and staircases with paint, while others did not. It was clearly a matter of personal taste. From the end of the 17th century, however, elaborate carving in wood became extremely fashionable, and its main proponent was Grinling Gibbons, the acknowledged master-carver of his age. His death in 1721 was celebrated in a lavish 300th anniversary exhibition and fresh perspective curated by Hannah Philip at Bonham’s in London and later at Compton Verney. Gibbons’s work is almost a talisman in some churches; he remains the only carver of any period whom ordinary people have ever heard of. Yet he is also surrounded by myth and misattribution. It used to be said with great certainty that Gibbons only ever carved in lime, and the wood was always meant to be seen. This somewhat threadbare statement is still occasionally trotted out, but we now benefit from much detailed scholarship, a rigorous approach and forensic science, which shines new light on his work and reveals a picture that is much more complicated. Instead, it seems that there was a more sophisticated approach to the aesthetics of his compositions and their setting. Recent inspection of Gibbons’s magnificent reredos in the chapel royal at Hampton Court Palace is reinforcing this view as conservators have been able to look closely at the carvings for the first time in 20 years. Gibbons has rarely been out of public consciousness. In 1914 his genius was brought to wider attention with the publication of a sumptuous volume of his works by Henry Avray Tipping, sometime architectural editor of Country Life, which marked the culmination of a great revival of wood carving from the Victorian period. In the early 20th century, with the stripping and demolition of great country houses, Gibbons’s work was 17th century panel from Trinity College Chapel, showing the removal of later varnishes to expose the original finish. (Photo: Alan Lamb)
BCD SPECIAL REPORT ON HISTORIC CHURCHES 31st ANNUAL EDITION 7 highly prized and found its way into several American museums. Such was his reputation that many other pieces not by Gibbons but given his name were also sold at a premium. In recent years these museums have been reassessing their collections and their attributions with interesting results. Likewise, the fire in the King’s Apartments at Hampton Court Palace in 1986 was a catalyst to more detailed reappraisal of the carvings there under the eyes of David Luard and the late David Esterley as repairs were being undertaken, revealing surface treatments under layers of Victorian varnish. David Esterley’s book, Grinling Gibbons and the Art of Carving, which was recently republished, is now a standard text on the subject. For pure aesthetic impact, the restoration of the reredos in St James’s, Piccadilly in 2005 startled the conservation world when David Luard applied a coat of gouache over what had previously been very dark, heavily varnished carvings which had lost all definition. It was a strategy that proved controversial at the time but was based on documents and analysis which suggested that the original carvings darkened over time with the smoke of fires, dust, dirt and candlewax, and needed ‘freshening up’. Gibbons himself was paid periodically to clean and repair the carvings at Windsor Castle, but limewood is difficult to clean. It appears that sometimes a coat of limewash or other substance such as oil paint was applied to brighten the carvings and restore something of their original appearance, and this was the approach taken at St James’s, with spectacular results. Different institutions and museums have been working quietly since on their own collections. At Kensington Palace three important compositions of Gibbons have survived – in the King’s Presence Chamber and Queen Anne’s Orangery, with two further gilded mirrored overmantles in the Queen’s Gallery. All have now been reassessed. In 2013 the Presence Chamber carvings were removed for conservation and found to preserve extensive traces of white oil paint – together with fragments of the wire wool which had been used to strip them in 1898 and left behind by lazy restorers. William Kent is known to have painted panelling and carvings in 1725 just four years after the death of the carver as part of his decorative alterations to the King’s and Queen’s Apartments. However the Victorians scraped what they dismissively called ‘Kent’s dirty incrustations’ back to what was believed to be their original appearance, revealing in the meantime some crafty replacements in pine by the notorious ‘restorer’ William Gibbs Rogers. Was the paint original? In this case we couldn’t tell, but a similar appraisal of the many carvings at Hampton Court Palace suggested that some paint had been applied at a later date, and this is a similar story emerging in houses such as Petworth and several churches, including St Paul’s Cathedral, St Mary Abchurch in the City of London and elsewhere. Conservation and repair of the chapel at Trinity College, Oxford, by Alan Lamb revealed the use of Bermudan cedar, now a rare and unobtainable wood, but probably highly exotic in its time and selected for its colour. When Celia Fiennes visited the chapel in 1695, she described the carving as ‘sweet like Cedar and of a reddish coullr, but ye grain much fine and well vein’d’. Cleaning trials indeed revealed a reddish natural hue on the underlying veneers. Attempts had also been made to lighten the carvings, as a layer of varnish was applied to the dirty bare wood before a lead-based paint, tinted with red and yellow iron oxides and red lake had then been applied in an attempt to restore the original light contrast. Similar attempts had been made at St Mary Abchurch. There, an old guidebook cites an account in the church archives which record their repainting in the natural colours Carvings at Trinity College after the reinstatement of the original appearance of the carvings, set against a contrasting veneered background. (Photo: Alan Lamb)
8 BCD SPECIAL REPORT ON HISTORIC CHURCHES 31st ANNUAL EDITION Traces of grey/blue paint mimicking Portland stone on one of the softwood console brackets in the Orangery. (Photo: Lee Prosser) of the flowers and leaves only 20 years after their creation – an extraordinary thought, but one which has not yet been proven by close observation and initial analysis. Instead stone colours were used to refresh and lighten the work. A similar finish was also applied to the pews. On most of Gibbons’s carvings, these early treatments were usually obliterated by the Victorian propensity either to strip and chemically bleach, as Rogers did at the library of Trinity College, Cambridge, or to darken everything in line with the oxidised oak of the pews and pulpits, often by using a Vandyke varnish or even brown paint. The effect, as at Hampton Court, was to make the beauty of the carvings recede into a gloomy background; in some ways we have inherited this view and this has become our understanding of his work. There may also be other aesthetic considerations at work. At Queen Anne’s Orangery at Kensington, constructed in 1705, the apse arches at either end of this fine building are framed by limewood festoons of flowers and fruits, springing from pine console brackets and meeting central cherubs’ heads. The fairly rough carving and the use of softwood had fostered some doubts that the carvings were actually by Gibbons, but the discovery of payments in the National Archives shows that they are indeed the product of his workshop. A late 19th-century photograph shows the carvings apparently painted, and paint analysis undertaken in 2020 showed that two layers of paint had been applied to the fresh, clean wood – here apparently no problem with dirt and grime, but instead an attempt to make the carvings appear like stone and perhaps more precisely, Portland stone. Much of the paint survives, but is only visible in close proximity and during the restoration it was decided not to repaint the carvings. This was a period when Gibbons was moving more into stone carving and the fashion for decorative wood was falling away. Aesthetics must therefore play a part. At All Hallows by the Tower, the magnificent font cover was one of the stars of the exhibition in 2021, but a close look reveals traces of white paint in the inner crevices of the composition. Sitting as it does on a font of fine grey or white marble, it would seem natural that the cover should also align, and perhaps we ought to be revisiting this wonderful example with that in mind. The reinstatement of the carvings in Queen Anne’s Orangery at Kensington Palace in 2021. (Photo: Lee Prosser)
BCD SPECIAL REPORT ON HISTORIC CHURCHES 31st ANNUAL EDITION 9 Stone isn’t the only material to be copied. In Queen Anne’s Oratory at Hampton Court, singing cherubs look down from a vaulted lantern, with swirls of foliage and carved decorative ribs, all painted to look like plasterwork. The Chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace is full of Gibbons’s work. Payments survive for running mouldings as well as the finer work, which includes paired cherubs’ heads supporting the lower parts of the Tudor vault, a fine royal coat of arms, and cornucopiae spilling out ears of wheat and fruit, scrolls and crowns, in addition to the reredos itself. All were part of a grand scheme to transform the chapel in Baroque style for Queen Anne around 1711, complete with wall and ceiling paintings by James Thornhill and Joseph Highmore. From afar the reredos carvings have little definition, but with the aid of a scaffold we see clusters of cherubs’ heads amid festoons of palm fronds, vines and fruits, Turk’s-cap lilies and tulips, with drops, wreaths and swirls of tremendous virtuosity, all hallmarks of the master’s works. These all sit on a base of parquetry of the highest quality, incorporating Baltic oak with dense patterns of medullary rays arranged in alternating directions. Predictably, these initial studies are revealing a myriad of new information. The winged cherubs which carry the Tudor roof are gilded over pine, while the organ, also a Gibbons piece, is in The font at All Hallows by the Tower. (Photo: Lee Prosser) The vaulted lantern of Queen Anne’s Oratory at Hampton Court, probably using recycled elements intended for Whitehall Palace, but including many carvings painted to look like plaster. (Photo: Lee Prosser) The angels on the chapel reredos at Hampton Court. The dark colour and shine are caused by waxes and varnish, complete with a layer of dust. (Photo: Lee Prosser) Ongoing scholarship, and the chance to get up close to Gibbons’s art is showing us that he worked in several types of timber, some of which must have been painted or gilded, and that colour and contrast, though nuanced was an important factor in his creations. LEE PROSSER is curator of historic buildings at Historic Royal Palaces, with responsibility for Kensington Palace, Kew Palace and Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland. He studies historic interiors and has been involved in several conservation projects involving the carvings of Grinling Gibbons. naked oak, but with pierced fretwork backed by maroon-coloured felt – now barely visible with age. The carvings were particularly badly treated in the 1920s, when the Office of Works dipped them repeatedly in glue in an attempt to treat beetle infestation, and probably other chemicals we daren’t think about. Varnishes and waxes have also taken their toll of our appreciation and they now have a dark and shiny appearance. However, there remains much evidence of paint or white and ochre-tinted washes, which have been sampled and promise to unlock more information, about their original appearance but also about the possible use of gold. Cleaning trials have also been undertaken and small (reversible) samples of gouache and tinted wax prepared to show what the reredos may look like one day if a full restoration is ever contemplated. The results would be spectacular. It was always beloved of church guides to point out how the pea pods in Gibbons’s carvings (whether open or closed), denoted whether he had been paid for his work or not. This particular notion has long been scotched, thankfully, and science is putting to rest other myths. His stone carving is now undergoing concerted study, and even within his creations in wood, carvers like Alan Lamb believe that they can identify the hands of his apprentices, who undoubtedly did most of the work.
10 BCD SPECIAL REPORT ON HISTORIC CHURCHES 31st ANNUAL EDITION WHERE SOME DOORS CLOSE OTHERS STAY OPEN Helen Richards Churches worry that opening their doors through the week will encourage crime and vandalism, but new research suggests the benefits of open doors far outweigh the risks. UNFORTUNATELY, MANY of the nation’s churches are locked for much or most of the time, even during daylight hours. According to new research from Ecclesiastical Insurance, a quarter of churches are only open for services or special events, while another quarter are only open during the day when staff or volunteers are available to man them. Hardly any (2%) are open and unlocked at all times which, while low, points to a small proportion of churches who are taking unnecessary risks as their insurance cover only applies to daytime opening. Many churches would like to be open more of the time, the research suggests. Four out of five (91%) church representatives who responded to the survey support the principle of keeping churches open, with only two per cent against. Keeping churches open as much as possible reinforces their place at the heart of communities but fears around crime, costs and staffing levels lead many to remain locked and bolted outside of Sunday mornings and special occasions. The research suggests that these fears may be exaggerated or misplaced and that for most churches the benefits of being open are likely to significantly outweigh the risks. A WELCOME FOR EVERYONE Open churches are living churches. They welcome people regardless of faith or their reasons for wanting to visit. Some will come to church to pray or light a candle, while others may want nothing more than a place for a peaceful rest on their walk home from the shops – a physical rather than spiritual rejuvenation. Given that the Church of England owns over 12,000 listed church buildings and the Roman Catholic church 600 or so more, it’s no surprise that tourists and historians are also regular visitors to churches. An open church encourages these visitors, who in turn experience a warm and all-embracing institution. Once inside, they may see evidence of the church’s historic role and also of its modern purpose at the heart of communities. They may feel inspired by the music, art and architecture they find there. Of course, some visitors may make a cash donation, tap a contactless payment point or scan a QR code to donate online, which is something not to be sniffed at when the backlog of repairs to Church of England buildings is estimated to amount to £1 billion. Daniel Sandham, the Vicar of St Paul’s in Winchmore Hill, London, took a sabbatical earlier this year and captured the essence of open churches during a walking tour of Norfolk on his website1. He sums up the appeal of open churches: ‘The open church is a church that is available to all parishioners: they do not have to profess a faith, or prove their identity, or pay an admission fee. There is a remarkable inclusivity about an open church. This is common ground, where everyone belongs.’ In the Ecclesiastical Insurance survey, over 78 per cent of respondents agreed that keeping the church open encourages the community to use it, 84 per cent that it encourages visitors and 85 per cent that it helps the church deliver its mission to more people. A third (33%) said it encouraged donations, and just over a quarter (27%) said it helped to attract volunteers. A locked church can have the opposite effect, reinforcing the idea that church is for true believers and nobody else. In an increasingly secular world, the idea that churches are for Sundays or special religious occasions – often referred to as ‘festival churches’ – could impact the traditional ties between the parish church and the village or neighbourhood it serves. 1 https://walkingnorfolkschu.wixsite.com Visitors to St Andrew’s, Winterborne Tomson in Dorset find the door open and the interior welcoming. What use is a church with a locked door to those who want to pray or enjoy a moment of quiet contemplation? (Photo: Jonathan Taylor)
BCD SPECIAL REPORT ON HISTORIC CHURCHES 31st ANNUAL EDITION 11 THE RISKS OF OPEN DOORS Despite these benefits, churches often remain locked because of fears around crime. Churches may believe that an open door policy encourages acts of opportunistic theft or vandalism and they quite rightly believe that the safety of church staff and volunteers has to be a priority. We don’t leave our houses unlocked throughout the day, so why would we risk it with our churches? These fears are not unreasonable. A report published in March by Historic England and the National Police Chiefs’ Council found a rise in theft and vandalism at the nation’s most cherished historic sites, with churches a prime target (see http://bc-url.com/hc24-crime). The report identifies the “theft of valuable heritage materials and cultural objects by opportunist offenders and organised crime groups”, adding that “arson, vandalism, graffiti and other forms of antisocial behaviour continue to pose a significant threat.” But it’s by no means clear that keeping churches open makes these problems worse. In fact, some commentators say open churches encourage the eyes of the community to act as a deterrent to crime and antisocial behaviour. In a letter to the Guardian, Claire Walker, Chief Executive of the National Churches Trust, wrote: “By far the biggest asset in keeping a church safe is the many eyes and ears of local people. If a church is open and welcoming, local people will be alert to what is happening when they go past, or even pop inside to keep an eye on things.” To some extent, the responses to the survey backed this view. They suggest that it is not at all obvious that unlocked churches experience more crime. It is true that, when asked whether their churches had experienced crimes in the last five years, nearly 14 per cent of respondents from unlocked and attended (staffed) churches said they had experienced theft from inside the church, while a little more than half that number (7.4%) from locked churches said the same. But we could put that another way and say that over 86 per cent of unlocked and attended churches hadn’t experienced a theft from inside the church in five years. And the research also found that, while there were fewer thefts from inside locked churches, there were more thefts from their grounds. Similarly, locked churches experienced less antisocial behaviour inside buildings, but significantly more outside. It’s also likely that when theft or antisocial behaviour happens inside a locked church, it causes more damage and costs more to fix, because it implies a break-in. While nearly eight per cent of locked churches reported a break-in in the last five years, only 1.6 per cent of unlocked and attended churches said the same. PSYCHOLOGICAL BARRIERS So the research paints a mixed picture and it is by no means clear that locked and unwelcoming buildings will attract less crime than open and welcoming ones. Overall, the opposite may even be true. Nevertheless, fears over crime and antisocial behaviour are clearly barriers to keeping church doors open. In the survey, over a third (36%) of respondents cited concerns over an increased risk of theft as the reason for keeping doors locked, a far higher number than had actually experienced a recent theft. A further third (33%) were worried about vandalism and 32 per cent about potential damage to buildings. Over a third (36%) were concerned about insurance costs and restrictions. By far the most common reason for keeping churches shut is a lack of staff or volunteers. The three quarters (73%) of respondents who chose this answer may have been concerned about the risks of crime and antisocial behaviour in buildings that were both unlocked and unattended. Almost a third of respondents (30%) were worried about staff and volunteer safety. A welcome message from a parish church in Shropshire which is open in daylight hours and provides an informative guide to the treasures it holds. (Photos: Jonathan Taylor)
12 BCD SPECIAL REPORT ON HISTORIC CHURCHES 31st ANNUAL EDITION These are entirely understandable concerns but they may be more of a psychological barrier than a real one. According to Claire Walker, the incidence of vandalism has been shown to reduce when churches open their doors during the week. The findings from this recent research suggest that being open makes little difference overall to the risks of crime and antisocial behaviour on church property. TAKING PRECAUTIONS In many cases the benefits of opening church doors almost certainly outweigh the challenges. That’s even more true if churches take some simple precautions to minimise risk and keep their property, buildings and people safe. When it comes to risk management steps, churches should follow the guidance from their insurers. Much of the advice relates to good housekeeping, such as ensuring doors and windows are locked. Among the most practical steps to take are to enlist the help of neighbours and the local community. If you make sure local residents know the church is operating an open door policy, they’ll be more likely to report any activity that seems out of place. People tend to pay less notice to the comings and goings of people near buildings that appear locked and unused. Churches can also encourage local people to pop in when they’re passing by. This is most easily achieved when you give them something to pop in for. Promote the idea of the church as a space for everyone, whether they’re religious or not. It can be a place for a quiet break, or somewhere to use the WiFi, or an architectural gem to admire, as well as a place for prayer and spiritual contemplation. Parishes are breathing new life into churches by opening them as community hubs. Churches are hosting mother and baby groups, post offices, food banks and cafes. Community groups are hiring out church halls for meetings and activities, turning them into centres for yoga, kids’ messy play, concerts and exhibitions. For example, in inner city Liverpool, Christ Church Kensington is bustling with classes, dance and music activities, social functions, holiday clubs and youth groups as well as a weekly food bank. In rural Wales, part of St Madoc of Ferns near Haverfordwest is being used as a heritage centre and rehearsal space. A WIDENING REMIT Ecclesiastical’s research shows that many churches are already widening their remit, with two thirds (65%) used as hubs for community events and a similar number (66%) wanting to do more. Activities include school visits (71%), renting out spaces to community groups (71%), holding concerts (63%) and hosting toddler/baby groups (55%). Over a quarter (26%) believe hosting these events deters thieves. Some of the more commercial activities help top up church coffers. All of these activities help turn underused buildings into places that brim with life for much of the week. Churches with a regular flow of visitors are an unlikely target for crime. Those with strong ties to the community – religious and otherwise – nurture a sense of shared ownership and responsibility. Not all churches are suitable for community activities like these, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be open and accessible through the day with the right precautions. For example, draw up a rota of volunteers who can be present in church, though also consider their personal safety if anyone is likely to be in the building on their own. Ideally, volunteers will work in teams of two and have access to mobile phones. Think about installing a secure storage area where valuables can be locked away and keep photographs of valuables and portable furniture to make recovery easier in the event of theft. CCTV systems and personal attack alarms are other possibilities, if resources stretch that far. For more information on opening doors more often, churches should talk to their insurance providers. But that’s also seen as a potential barrier by churchwardens, who worry about what an open door policy might mean for their insurance premiums. The good news is that it’s unlikely to make any difference at all. There should be no impact on premiums if churches are open during daylight hours and proper risk assessments have been made. It is a condition of cover that doors are still locked overnight though, and churches need to ensure they have the appropriate measures in place to ensure that is the case. AN OPEN AND WELCOMING CHURCH In towns, suburbs and villages around the country, churches are underused, while the costs of their upkeep continue to rise. Ensuring they stay open for worship often means opening them for other purposes, too. There are huge benefits in keeping church doors open for everyone. Visitors leave donations, volunteers help with maintenance and local groups hire space. People nurture and protect institutions that are important to the life of the community. There are risks to an open door policy, but these are often overstated. Open but well used buildings may be less prone to crime and antisocial behaviour than locked and lonely ones. There are also easy and inexpensive ways to reduce the risks of crime in open buildings. If you don’t already keep your church doors open, it may be time to consider doing so. A sensible approach can make your church a safe and welcoming space for all and put it back at the heart of your community. HELEN RICHARDS is Church Operations Director, Ecclesiastical Insurance Volunteers at St Madocs of Ferns, near Haverfordwest (Photo: St Madocs)
BCD SPECIAL REPORT ON HISTORIC CHURCHES 31st ANNUAL EDITION 13 Ecclesiastical Insurance Office plc (EIO) Reg. No. 24869. Registered in England at Benefact House, 2000 Pioneer Avenue, Gloucester Business Park, Brockworth, Gloucester, GL3 4AW, United Kingdom. EIO is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Firm Reference Number 113848. © Ecclesiastical Insurance Office plc 2024 You’re choosing real people that really care and are uniquely familiar with the pressures churches face. You’re choosing experience. We know that a church is more than a building and we know what to do should the worst happen, because we’ve been doing it for 135 years. By choosing Ecclesiastical, you’re choosing insurance you can believe in. ecclesiastical.com/just YOU’RE NOT JUST CHOOSING ECCLESIASTICAL YOU’RE CHOOSING 135 YEARS OF CARE AND EXPERTISE.
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BCD SPECIAL REPORT ON HISTORIC CHURCHES 31st ANNUAL EDITION 15 UNDER THE WEATHER Storm damage repairs and mitigation Richard Martin AS BRITISH winters become warmer, they also become wetter. In the latter part of 2021 and early 2022, storms Arwen, Eunice and Franklin arrived in the UK and caused devastation to many cathedrals and churches. In one case, a carved, freestanding pinnacle on the tower fell, weighing approximately a tonne and consisting of 15 stones. It crashed through the vaulted transept below, luckily not causing injury to anyone. At another, a pinnacle that had withstood hundreds of years of British weather finally gave up and was left teetering at an angle of 45 degrees. Storm damage can cause immediate and obvious issues, such as debris falling from height. It can also cause damage with a less immediate effect through the dislodging of leadwork by high gusts of wind, the lifting of slates, the blocking of gutters with debris and the erosion of exposed masonry joints, allowing mosses and weeds to gain a hold. This leads to saturation of the fabric below and the destabilisation of stone, as well as providing an environment for larger vegetation growth, like buddleia and ivy. These are all examples of damage that may not be recognised immediately but can cause long-term issues for the building if not discovered in time. In the past it was usual to inspect stone details at height perhaps two or three times every 100 years, as the costs of erecting scaffolding and managing a large programme of works was a huge undertaking. In recent decades the use of drone surveys alongside repairs and surveys made using rope access and mobile elevating work platforms (MEWPs) such as ‘cherry pickers’ has enabled regular and timely action to take place, prolonging the life of exposed stone detail. As everyone in the conservation sector of the building industry understands, shedding rain and water management are the most important factors in the upkeep of heritage properties. Indeed many of the most glorious details on our historic buildings are there to shed water. Grotesque gargoyles, moulded arches, steep spires, carved cornices and peaked finials all direct water into well-designed drainage systems. In some cases those drainage details do require a rethink due to the increasing frequency of extreme weather. Variations from the original design may sometimes be necessary, and getting this right requires conservation architects, structural engineers, stonemasons and clients working together. The upkeep of rain shedding details and water management must be prioritised for the health of the building. Should the details fail and stone become loose, it will be necessary to remove the vulnerable parts from the building to prevent any accidents. If this is the case, the runoff water may then take a different course, other than the originally designed route and this can lead to a number of (Photo: Heritage Stone Access)
16 BCD SPECIAL REPORT ON HISTORIC CHURCHES 31st ANNUAL EDITION further issues. Therefore, removing stone is always done with an eye on the future integrity of the building. Stone tends to be most badly damaged when there is repeated wetting and drying, causing cycles of crystallisation. This tends to happen where water is able to pool, where weathering details have not been maintained, and where drains and gutters are blocked. Standing water saturates the masonry, washing out the matrix of the material and dissolving salts. These then appear on the faces of the stones as efflorescence; surface crystallisation of the salts. Less soluble salts may crystallise within the pores of the stone and start to break apart the material. This is called cryptoflorescence and it causes powdering and blistering of stonework. Once the matrix of the stone is shot and the stone is friable, there is good reason to replace, repair or consolidate the stone. The decision-making concerning these areas of conservation are best worked out with the long-term preservation of the building in mind and with professional and experienced input. To prevent areas from getting into such a state, it is best to work out a conservation strategy that includes the management and maintenance of water shedding detail. ROPE ACCESS Rope access, carried out by qualified stonemason conservators, enables heritage specialists to rapidly respond to emergencies, as well as providing a cost-effective response to the everyday effects of our weather. Take a piece of detailed carving such as a grotesque or gargoyle, whose features have been lost over the decades as an example. Using rope access techniques, a qualified stonemason can remove damaged stone safely and neatly, ensuring that the fabric remains weathertight, without the need to install a scaffold. Using the latest technology, templates can then be made and new stone cut (after being sensitively sourced) before carving provides the exquisite final details. The new masonry can then be installed either by rope access or, if justified by the scale of the work, from a scaffold. To use rope access safely and effectively, the Industrial Rope Access Trading Association (IRATA) has developed three levels of training, the highest being Level 3. Stonemasons working at height should be qualified to Level 3 or be accompanied by an IRATA Level 3 rope access technician. Rope access was used in both the scenarios mentioned above where pinnacle failure occurred. In the first case it was utilised to haul the 15 stones out of the vaulting and down to safety on the ground where they could be measured up and carved anew. In the second case rope access was used to remove the teetering pinnacle so it could be conserved and re-fixed at a later date. Rope access can also be used by qualified stonemasons to regularly inspect areas that may be prone to storm damage. Rope access not only allows for cost-effective annual, biennial or triennial access to the areas but also enables conservators to document, measure, handle and repair materials in situ. Inspections of fragile stonework at height via rope access makes it more cost-effective to keep an eye on pinnacles, spires, lanterns, turrets and towers, metal detailing, glazing and leadworks, and the all-important details which manage the effects of the weather; drainage details and weatherings, including gargoyles, leadworks and such like. COMBINING SURVEY INSPECTIONS WITH REPAIRS In the past few years, where the British weather seems to have become more extreme, be it from rainfall, storms or hot sunshine, the stones that have the most exposure are suffering. Often stones that we might expect to have a metal fixing do not, while others contain metalwork that is subject to rust, causing spalling and damage to the surrounding stones. Sometimes detailing has been overlooked in the past in search of a temporary solution. Joints may have been changed, or indents made that cannot be expected to last hundreds of years, meaning these details need inspecting. In the rare cases where stone fall occurs, whether toppled by wind gusts or the moving of leadwork, hazardous material needs to be removed within a carefully managed system. All evidence should be documented to maintain continuity of the historical record, and educated conservation or replacement recommendations should be presented before works are carried out. As well as the nature of the structures, it is as important to understand the current condition of the given material: stone, which might be original or renewed, blistering, spalling, delaminating or structurally cracking; leadwork; other metalwork such as pins, copperwork and meshes; woodwork such as structural timbers or crosses. All need to be included within a detailed report on the structure as a whole. A conclusion to the problem should be sought, with recommendations for a solution, and then a plan of action created with further steps. Fingertip surveys of areas at height result in comprehensive and detailed reporting on the condition of weathering details such as spires, hooded arches, string courses, pinnacles, gargoyles and coping stones. Giving a stonemason up-close access to the stone for taptesting and a hands-on examination allows them to not only assess defects, but repair, recarve and replace stone detail. Rope access also facilitates regular repointing, for example on vertical joints within cornices, string courses, spire stones and other weatherings that get washed-out over years of exposure. Each inspection comes with a report carrying recommendations that are graded in terms of priority for the building. Priority works may only be small phases of conservation repair but to carry them out on local areas of the building can save large amounts of damage in the future. Bespoke, localised repairs, without the use of a scaffold, tend to be able to fit within budgets and events. Rope access is non-intrusive, where scaffolding might be, so it allows bespoke, localist conservation repair works to go ahead without hugely interrupting the day-to-day use of the building. It enables the stonemason to manage, consolidate and mason fragile, pinnacle stonework. Techniques and cost-efficient methodologies are in a constant state of development, either using rope access, mobile platforms, scaffolding or combinations to both remove and replace stone detail. These techniques and methodologies also embrace high-level lead work. The detailing of lead work tends to penetrate the stone, for example with flashings or lead drainage through a stone parapet. These crafts have developed alongside one another. Installing new lead overflows allows the upkeep of any drainage systems and lead weathering currently experiencing a lot of use due to the extreme weather. When small phases of works are surveyed, documented and carried out with this ‘little and often’ approach, by specialist stonemasons and leadworkers, it becomes far more a cost-effective in the long run. RICHARD MARTIN is Director of Heritage Stone Access Ltd (www.heritagestoneaccess. co.uk), a stone carver and rope access technician.
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