Redundant church

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St Mary's in Wythall, Worcestershire, a redundant church, now offices for an electrical company. St Mary Wythall.jpg
St Mary's in Wythall, Worcestershire, a redundant church, now offices for an electrical company.

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, [1] but may also be used for disused churches in other countries. Redundant churches may be deconsecrated, but this is not always done. [2]

Contents

Reasons for redundancy include population movements, changing social patterns, merging of parishes, and decline in church attendance (especially in the Global North). Historically, redundant churches were often demolished or left to ruin. Today, many are repurposed as community centres, museums or homes, and are demolished only if no alternative can be found.

Anglican buildings

Although church buildings fall into disuse around the world, the term "redundancy" was particularly used by the Church of England, which had a Redundant Churches Division. As of 2008, it instead refers to such churches as "closed for regular public worship", and the Redundant Churches Division became the Closed Churches Division. [3]

The redundant Holy Trinity Church, Wensley, in North Yorkshire, England, has been vested in the Churches Conservation Trust since 2006 HolyTrinity back 8812.jpg
The redundant Holy Trinity Church, Wensley, in North Yorkshire, England, has been vested in the Churches Conservation Trust since 2006

Church buildings in England may be declared redundant for a number of reasons, but it is primarily due to a reduction in the number of regular Sunday worshippers, which has steadily fallen since the late 1980s, to about 1.7m in 2008, [4] [5] and 1.11m in 2019 (before the covid pandemic in the UK distorted figures). [6] Other reasons include the amalgamation of parishes; or a preference for another building where two churches are in close proximity, for example at Swaffham Prior, Cambridgeshire. Population shift is another factor. For example, many redundant churches were formerly maintained in deserted or shrunken medieval villages (such as Wharram Percy in Yorkshire). Others are located in town centres that have seen a decline in the resident population. The square mile City of London has only a few thousand permanent residents—far smaller than its historic population, as most workers now commute from outside its boundaries—leaving many redundant churches there.

About 20 to 25 Church of England churches are declared closed for regular public worship each year. [3] They are demolished only as a last resort. Some active use is made of about half of the closed churches. 1795 were closed between 1969 and 2010, or about 11% of existing churches, with about 1/3 listed as Grade I or II. (Of these, only 514 were built later than 1989.) Only 20% were demolished, of which 75% were unlisted. [7]

The aim of the closure process is to find new uses for the structures, for which the diocese is responsible. Some closed churches remain consecrated for occasional use by the Church of England. Some are purchased by other denominations or faiths for regular use. Several charitable trusts preserve churches of architectural merit, such as the Churches Conservation Trust in England, and the Friends of Friendless Churches in Wales (which also maintains a number of churches in England). Historic Churches Scotland cares for several former Church of Scotland church buildings.

Reuse

Depending on their listed status, many closed churches can be converted to other uses. Several are used as community and education centres—for example, All Saints' Church, Bristol and All Saints Church, Harthill. In Chester, Holy Trinity Church now serves as the town's Guildhall, and St Michael's Church as a heritage centre. St Peter's Church, Offord D'Arcy, managed by the Churches Conservation Trust, is used to host festivals, including a film festival.

Others buildings are used in more unusual ways. Old St Ann's Church, Warrington is an indoor climbing centre (one of several churches used in this way). Others are art galleries, coffee shops, and even pubs and clubs (e.g. High Pavement Chapel in Nottingham). Many are converted into residential properties. [5]

In some cases—such as the grade-I-listed St Ninian's, Brougham, a Churches Conservation Trust church—the building's remote location makes alternative use impractical.

Methodist buildings

The popularity of Methodism and other non-conformist churches in the 19th century has left many chapel buildings which cannot be sustained. At their height, various Methodist factions ran about 14,000 chapels in the UK. With declining attendance, in 2002 the United Methodists owned just over 6,000, and disposed of about 100 each year. [5] Particularly significant chapels may be taken into the care of the Historic Chapels Trust.

Related Research Articles

York had around 45 parish churches in 1300. Twenty survive, in whole or in part, a number surpassed in England only by Norwich, and 12 are used for worship. This article consists of a list of medieval churches which still exist in whole or in part, and a list of medieval churches which are known to have existed in the past but have been completely demolished.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Paul's Church, Bristol</span> Church in Bristol, 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chapel Royal, Brighton</span> Church

The Chapel Royal is an 18th-century place of worship in the centre of Brighton, part of the English city of Brighton and Hove. Built as a chapel of ease, it became one of Brighton's most important churches, gaining its own parish and becoming closely associated with the Prince Regent and fashionable Regency-era society. It remains an active church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Andrew's Church, Waterloo Street, Hove</span> Church in Hove, United Kingdom

St Andrew's Church is a former Anglican church in the Brunswick Town area of Hove, part of the English city of Brighton and Hove. It is in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust, the national charity protecting historic churches at risk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Mark's Church, Brighton</span> Church in Brighton and Hove , England

St Mark's Church is a former Anglican church in the Kemptown area of Brighton, part of the English city of Brighton and Hove. Originally intended as the private chapel of the adjacent St Mary's Hall school, it was partly built in 1838 at the request of Frederick Hervey, 1st Marquess of Bristol; but arguments over whether or not it should also be open to the public delayed its completion for more than 10 years. It became the parish church of Kemptown in 1873, but declining attendances resulted in a declaration of redundancy in 1986. At that time it was taken over by the school and became its chapel, nearly 150 years after this was first proposed. The Early English-style stone and concrete structure has been criticised by architectural historians, but has been listed at Grade II by English Heritage for its architectural and historical importance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ebenezer Particular Baptist Chapel, Hastings</span> Church in East Sussex , England

Ebenezer Particular Baptist Chapel is a former Strict Baptist place of worship in Hastings, East Sussex, England. Founded in 1817 by members of the congregation of an older Baptist chapel in the ancient town, it was extended several times in the 19th century as attendances grew during Hastings' period of rapid growth as a seaside resort. It was closed and converted into a house in the late 20th century, but still stands in a prominent position in Hastings Old Town. English Heritage has listed the building at Grade II for its architectural and historical importance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Historic Chapels Trust</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Mary's Church, Tarleton</span> Church in Lancashire, England

St Mary's Church is a redundant Anglican church on the A59 road as it passes to the south of the village of Tarleton, Lancashire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. It is described by the Churches Conservation Trust as a "picturesque early Georgian chapel" with "a lovely unspoiled interior".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St John the Evangelist's Church, Lancaster</span> Church in Lancashire, England

St John the Evangelist's Church is a redundant Anglican church in North Road, Lancaster, Lancashire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Warminghurst</span> Church in West Sussex , United Kingdom

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is a former Anglican church in the hamlet of Warminghurst in the district of Horsham, one of seven local government districts in the English county of West Sussex. The present building, which is no longer used for worship, has 13th-century origins, but a church may have existed on the site in the 11th century or earlier. Often administered in connection with other churches in the rural area of West Sussex in which it was built–churches at nearby Steyning, Ashington and Thakeham were all involved with it at various times–its congregations declined and closure came first in the 1920s and then for good in 1979, when it was declared redundant. Unlike many ancient churches in Sussex, it was not subject to restoration in the mid-19th century: its interior has been called "the finest example in Sussex of how many must have looked before the Victorian restorers". After a period in which the Early English Gothic stone-built church fell into dereliction, prompting one Sussex historian to lament its "unloved" appearance, it was taken into the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. English Heritage has listed the church at Grade I for its architectural and historical importance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Mary's Church, Chilton</span> Church in Suffolk, England

St Mary's Church is a redundant Church of England parish church in the civil parish of Chilton, Suffolk, England. It is a Grade I listed building, and is in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oxhey Chapel</span> Church in Hertfordshire, England

Oxhey Chapel is a redundant Anglican chapel in Oxhey, Hertfordshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. The chapel stands, surrounded by 1940s housing in South Oxhey between a modern church and its vicarage, some 2 miles (3.2 km) south of the centre of Watford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St John the Evangelist's Church, Chichester</span> Church in West Sussex , United Kingdom

St John the Evangelist's Church is a redundant Anglican church in the cathedral city of Chichester in West Sussex, England. Built in 1812 to the design of James Elmes as a proprietary chapel, the octagonal white-brick "evangelical preaching house" reflects the early 19th-century ideals of the Church of England's evangelical wing before High church movements such as the Cambridge Camden Society changed ideas on church design. The Diocese of Chichester declared it redundant in 1973. Although worship no longer takes place in the building, its theatre-like design has made it a popular venue for concerts and musical events. The church is a Grade I Listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Wilfrid's Chapel, Church Norton</span> Church in West Sussex , United Kingdom

St Wilfrid's Chapel, also known as St Wilfrid's Church and originally as St Peter's Church, is a former Anglican church at Church Norton, a rural location near the village of Selsey in West Sussex, England. In its original, larger form, the church served as Selsey's parish church from the 13th century until the mid 1860s; when half of it was dismantled, moved to the centre of the village and rebuilt along with modern additions. Only the chancel of the old church survived in its harbourside location of "sequestered leafiness", resembling a cemetery chapel in the middle of its graveyard. It was rededicated to St Wilfrid—7th-century founder of a now vanished cathedral at Selsey—and served as a chapel of ease until the Diocese of Chichester declared it redundant in 1990. Since then it has been in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust charity. The tiny chapel, which may occupy the site of an ancient monastery built by St Wilfrid, is protected as a Grade I Listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">All Souls Church, Hastings</span> Former Anglican church in East Sussex, England

All Souls Church is a former Anglican church that served the Clive Vale suburb of Hastings, a seaside resort town and borough in the English county of East Sussex, between 1890 and 2007. The "large [and] serious town church" has been described as one of the best works by prolific ecclesiastical architect Arthur Blomfield. Built almost wholly of brick, inside and out, it dominates the streetscape of the late Victorian suburb and has a tall, "dramatic" interior displaying many of Blomfield's favourite architectural features. The church also has Heaton, Butler and Bayne stained glass and an elaborate reredos. Falling attendances and high maintenance costs caused it to close after a final service in November 2007, and the Diocese of Chichester officially declared it redundant soon afterwards. English Heritage has listed it at Grade II* for its architectural and historical importance.

Church reordering refers to the rearrangement and adaption of churches to accommodate changes in religious practice. More recently it has been used to describe the introduction of secular uses in under-used places of worship, while retaining their primary purpose as places of worship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Stephen's Church, Ealing</span> Christian congregation and community centre


St Stephen's Church is a Church of England church on Castlebar Hill in Ealing. It was founded in 1867 as a mission and is now established as a separate parish. The first church building was a temporary iron church which was then replaced in 1876 by a substantial Victorian Gothic stone building which is now Grade II listed. Subsidence made that unsafe and it was deconsecrated in 1979. It has been converted to flats but still forms the landmark centrepiece of the St Stephen's Conservation Area. The congregation now holds services on the site of the church hall which has been redeveloped as the third church building and community centre.

References

  1. "[Withdrawn on 9 December 2022; no longer current and pending review] Guidance: Disposal of redundant churches and other places of worship". The Charity Commission, English Heritage, and Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport. 1 January 2010.
  2. DISPOSAL OF REDUNDANT CHURCHES (PDF) (Report). THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND GENERAL TRUSTEES. 3 July 2001. It is not the practice of the Church of Scotland to deconsecrate buildings
  3. 1 2 Closed Churches, Church of England, November 2017
  4. "Provisional attendance figures for 2008 released: attending a local CofE church is part of a typical week for 1.1 million people". Church of England. 22 January 2010. Archived from the original on 31 March 2012.
  5. 1 2 3 "Redundant churches: Pints in the pews", The Economist, 28 March 2002
  6. "Statistics for Mission 2019". Church of England - Research and Statistics. 2020. Worshipping Community [those people who attend church regularly (for example once a month or more) or would do so if not prevented by illness or temporary absence] in 2019 was 1.11 million people
  7. Monckton, Linda (March 2010). "CHURCHES AND CLOSURE IN THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND" (PDF). English Heritage. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 November 2017.