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Predecessor | Historic Churches Preservation Trust (1953); Incorporated Church Building Society (1818) |
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Formation | 2007 |
Purpose | To promote and support church buildings of historic, architectural and community value across the UK |
Headquarters | Faith House |
Location |
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Chief Executive | Claire Walker |
Chair | Sir Philip Rutnam |
Website | nationalchurchestrust |
Formerly called | Historic Churches Preservation Trust |
The National Churches Trust, formerly the Historic Churches Preservation Trust, is a British registered charity whose aim is to "promote and support church buildings of historic, architectural and community value across the UK". [1]
It carries out this aim by providing financial grants to repair and modernise church buildings, supporting projects to enable churches to remain open, collaborating with local Churches Trusts and volunteer bodies, providing practical advice, support and information, and working to promote public awareness of the needs of churches. Its forerunner was the Historic Churches Preservation Trust, whose functions it has taken over, together with those of the Incorporated Church Building Society. [1]
By the middle of the 20th century, the fabric of many British church buildings was in a poor state of repair. This had followed socioeconomic changes in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including population changes, followed by neglect during the Second World War. [2] Matters came to a head in 1950 with public statements, including an editorial in The Times . About this time the Pilgrim Trust declared that it was ceasing to give grants for repairs to individual churches. [3] The Church of England Assembly (now the General Synod of the Church of England) established the Repair of Churches Commission to decide what should be done about the problem. This resulted in the creation of the Historic Churches Preservation Trust, which was registered as a charity in 1953. [2] [3] Its first Secretary and Executive Committee Chairman was Ivor Bulmer-Thomas, a Conservative politician, the role of Secretary being taken over later in 1953 by Hugh Llewellyn Jones. In order to ensure that the grants it gave were appropriate, local advisory panels of architects were established, later replaced by the Committee of Honorary Consultant Architects, who continued to advise the Trust until 2002. At the time of its foundation, it was estimated that a total of £4 million was necessary to fulfil its aims. Money was raised in a variety of ways, including appeals on radio and television, exhibitions, concerts, individual and corporate donations, and a benefit dinner. Support was received from charitable trusts, including the Pilgrim Trust, the Dulverton Trust, the Manifold Trust, and the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation. [2]
From the time of its creation, the Trust gave grants for the repair of both active and redundant churches, although the care of redundant churches was strictly beyond its remit. In 1960 the Bridges Commission recommended that "a new fund be set up under a new Pastoral Measure to preserve churches of acknowledged historic or architectural worth". [4] The Pastoral Measure of 1968 led to the creation of the Redundant Churches Fund (later the Churches Conservation Trust), which provided money from both the Church of England and the State for the preservation of redundant churches. [5]
It took until 1984 to raise the first £4 million. After that the size of donations tended to be larger. and by the end of 2005 a total of over £27 million had been raised. In 2000 alone over £2.2 million was received. The size of grants made to churches has varied greatly. Up to 2005 the smallest grant had been £33 4s 4d to a church in Mileham, Norfolk, in 1957, and the largest grants were of £100,000 each to a church in Portsea, Portsmouth, Hampshire, in 2000, and to Selby Abbey in 2005. [2] The criterion for the award of a grant was "for essential repairs to any place of worship (with the exception of cathedrals) over 100 years old which is of a recognized Christian denomination and is open for public worship". [2] Initially available only to churches in England, the scheme was extended to churches and chapels in Wales in 1987. The decision to award a grant is made by the Trust's Grants committee. Some of the churches that have been helped are now closed and have been declared redundant. These are now cared for by the Churches Conservation Trust. In 1983 the Historic Churches Preservation Trust took over the management of the Incorporated Church Building Society. This had been founded in 1818 to assist Anglican churches of any age, sometimes giving grants for new churches. In the early 1990s a Friends' scheme was instituted. In 2006 the Trust took over the functions of the Open Churches Trust. [2] The Historic Churches Preservation Trust was succeeded by the National Churches Trust in 2007. [1]
A government scheme, The Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, also assists in essential work to listed religious buildings, giving grants of £346 million from 2010 to 2023, mainly to cover the VAT on repairs. [6]
The National Churches Trust is a registered charity. The full definition of its objectives and activities are "to promote the conservation, repair, maintenance, improvement, and reconstruction of churches (to mean any recognised Christian places of worship, chapel or meeting house in the UK), and of such monuments, fittings, stained glass, furniture, organs, bells, in such churches and to promote the building, development of churches in the United Kingdom". [7] In the year ending 31 December 2009 its income was £1,895,258, of which 87.4% came from voluntary sources, and it spent £2,712,564, of which 89.4% was used for its charitable activities. It employed eight people. [7] The Trust is managed by a board of Trustees, and decisions to award grants are decided by the Grants Committee. [8] Grants of £10,000 and above are made for urgent structural repairs, and grants of between £5,000 and £25,000 are made towards the installation of facilities for such functions as toilets and catering. [9] Since 2005, the Trust has distributed over £9 million to over 1,000 churches. [10] It supports church buildings of any denomination that are members of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland, and covers the whole of the United Kingdom. It does not own churches, and does not support redundant churches. It receives no funding from the Government or from church authorities. Its income is derived from individual donations, and from parishes, Trusts and Foundations, and from investment income. As of 2011 the Trust is not contributing towards the building of new places of worship. The Trust works in conjunction with a network of Local Churches Trusts that cover most of the country. [11] Members of the public can become a Friend of the National Churches Trust. [12]
In July 2017 the trust launched an online competition, Sacred Wales – Cymru Sanctaidd, to find the favourite church or chapel in Wales from a list of 50 buildings suggested by religious and heritage organisations. [13] The competition was devised to "celebrate and raise awareness of Wales’ religious heritage". [14]
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The King of Prussia Gold Medal for Church Architecture is awarded by the National Churches Trust for innovative, high quality repair. [15] It was the gift of King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia (1795–1861) to the Incorporated Church Building Society in 1857. [15] The award has been made annually since the early 1980s, when the medal was re-discovered during an office move. [15] The medal is held for one year and afterwards a silver replica is provided. [15] The work of the Incorporated Church Building Society is now administered by the National Churches Trust. [15]
The Presidents' Award for church architecture dates from 1999 and is presented on behalf of the Presidents of the Ecclesiastical Architects and Surveyors Association and the National Churches Trust. [16] The award comprises a chalice and paten, originally commissioned by the Incorporated Church Building Society, and made after World War II, to be loaned to a new or seriously war damaged church. [16] They are lent to the winning parish to be held by them for the next year. [16]
The National Trust is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
English Heritage is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts, and country houses.
Trinity Church is a historic parish in the Episcopal Diocese of New York, whose church is located at 89 Broadway opposite Wall Street, in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. Known for its centuries of history, prominent location, distinguished architecture and bountiful endowment, Trinity's congregation is said to be "high church", its activities based on the traditions of the Episcopal Church and the worldwide Anglican Communion in missionary outreach, and fellowship. In addition to its main church, Trinity parish maintains two chapels: St. Paul's Chapel, and the Chapel of St. Cornelius the Centurion on Governors Island. The Church of the Intercession, the Trinity Chapel Complex and many other of Manhattan's Episcopal congregations were once part of Trinity parish. Columbia University was founded on the church's grounds as King's College in 1754.
Friends of Friendless Churches (FoFC) is a registered charity formed in 1957, active in England and Wales, which campaigns for and rescues redundant historic places of worship threatened by demolition, decay, or inappropriate conversion. As of April 2021, the charity owns 58 redundant churches or chapels, 29 of which are in England, and 29 in Wales.
The Georgian Group is a British charity, and the national authority on Georgian architecture built between 1700 and 1837 in England and Wales. As one of the National Amenity Societies, The Georgian Group is a statutory consultee on alterations to listed buildings, and by law must be notified of any work to a relevant listed building which involves any element of demolition.
The Churches Conservation Trust is a registered charity whose purpose is to protect historic churches at risk in England. The charity cares for over 350 churches of architectural, cultural and historic significance, which have been transferred into its care by the Church of England.
St Paul's Church, a redundant church, gives its name to the surrounding St Paul's area of Bristol, England. It was built in the 1790s but fell into disuse and disrepair by its closure in 1988. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building.
The Church of the Presidents is a former Episcopal chapel on the Jersey Shore where seven United States presidents worshipped. It was visited by presidents Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, Chester A. Arthur, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, and Woodrow Wilson. All except Grant were in office when they paid their visits to the church.
Save Britain's Heritage is a British charity, created in 1975 by a group of journalists, historians, architects, and planners to campaign publicly for endangered historic buildings. It is also active on the broader issues of preservation policy. SAVE is a registered charity governed by a board of trustees.
A redundant church, now referred to as a closed church, is a church building that is no longer used for Christian worship. The term most frequently refers to former Anglican churches in the United Kingdom, but may also be used for disused churches in other countries. Redundant churches may be deconsecrated, but this is not always done.
Maesyronnen Chapel is about 1 mile (2 km) north of the village of Glasbury, Powys, Wales. It is designated by Cadw as a Grade I listed building. The chapel is one of the earliest Nonconformist chapels to be built in Wales, and is the only chapel existing from that time to be largely unchanged and still in use as a chapel. It is currently administered by the United Reformed Church. The attached ccaretaker's cottage is also listed at Grade I.
The Historic Chapels Trust is a British Registered Charity set up to care for redundant non-Anglican churches, chapels, and places of worship in England. To date, its holdings encompass various nonconformist Christian denominations and Roman Catholic sites.
Bethesda Methodist Chapel is a disused Methodist chapel, in Hanley, Staffordshire, England. One of the largest Nonconformist chapels outside London, the building has been known as the "Cathedral of the Potteries", being "one of the largest and most ornate Methodist town chapels surviving in the UK".
Longworth Roman Catholic Chapel is a redundant chapel in the village of Bartestree, Herefordshire, England, standing adjacent to the former Convent of Our Lady of Charity and Refuge. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building, and is owned by the Historic Chapels Trust.
Historic Churches Scotland is a registered charity founded in 1996 which looks after Scottish churches which are of outstanding historic or architectural significance but are no longer used for regular worship. The Trust receives funding from Historic Scotland and public donations. Funding for restoration of churches in Trust ownership is received from the Heritage Lottery Fund, Historic Scotland, the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, the Scottish Churches Architectural Heritage Trust, and other trusts and public donations.
The Architectural Heritage Fund (AHF) is a registered charity founded in 1976 to promote the conservation and re-use of historic buildings across the United Kingdom. The AHF provides communities with advice, grants and loans to help them find enterprising and sustainable ways to revitalise the old buildings they love, particularly in economically disadvantaged areas. For over 40 years, it has been the leading social investor in creating new futures for historic buildings.
War Memorials Trust works for the protection and conservation of war memorials in the UK. The charity provides free information and advice as well as administering grant schemes for the repair and conservation of war memorials.
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