New work in historic places of worship
L
ike others, English Heritage has become concerned for the future of historic places of worship, most especially those highly-graded, rural parish churches that serve small communities. It has been estimated that around 5000 Church of England parish churches serve populations averaging 660 people or less. If any building is to be kept in good repair, it has to be regularly used and for this to happen, it needs to be fit for purpose. For places of worship, that doesn’t just mean reordering for new liturgy, but also the creation of comfortable areas for uses beyond the act of worship, accessible to the whole community. English Heritage is clear that changes need to be made to give listed places of worship a secure future in their communities, but we also want those changes to complement, and even enhance, the qualities of the building.
Since 1994, English Heritage has been a statutory consultee in the processes run by the five Christian denominations that have ‘ecclesiastical exemption’ from listed building and conservation area planning controls. Any other faith or denomination with proposals to change a listed place of worship has to seek the consent of the local planning authority. This advisory work now forms the majority of English Heritage’s interaction with historic places of worship. Parliament has given us the duty to protect historic buildings, so in accepting physical changes, we need to keep losses of important fabric, and changes to the significant character of the building, to a minimum.
In September 2003, we published New Works in Historic Places of Worship, a free leaflet, also available on our web-site. It is not a design guide, but it does aim to explain the principles which we think should be adopted when altering or extending
a listed place of worship, from the installation of new heating to the insertion of major new facilities. There is also a brief guide to the legal processes, how to contact English Heritage, and a short bibliography.
The vital first stage is to establish what is really needed by potential users, by consulting with the whole community, and also what is significant about the historic building. The key then is to match the two to maximise the investment, without
damaging the architectural and/or historic quality. This matching process is where conflicts can arise, just as they can in the re-use of any listed building – in that respect, places of worship are no different! It will be a matter of balancing the gains against the losses, to reach a practical solution that respects the special interests of the building.
Getting the information together, in what have become known as Statements of Need and Significance, can be time consuming, but should prevent much greater delay and frustration later on. The leaflet gives guidance on how they should be done. Statements will form the basis for establishing the project within the congregation and for explaining its value to the wider community. Pre-application discussions with denominational and local planning authorities, as well as English Heritage and the amenity societies, will be made simpler by having such authoritative policies to work with.
If you are planning to change your listed place of worship, then getting a copy of this leaflet is the best place to start.
Richard Halsey, English Heritage
www.english-heritage.org.uk/Filestore/publications/pdf/free/PLACES_OF_WORSHIP_WEB.pdf Order by phone 0870 429 6658.
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