How to look after, develop and utilise them

While we do our best to ensure that all links in this resource are correct, we cannot guarantee that links to external websites are kept up to date.  

1. LOOKING AFTER YOUR BUILDING AND ITS CONTENTS

The importance of regular maintenance for both the fabric of the building as well as its fixtures and fittings

In this section…

1.1 Maintenance

1.2 Care of internal fixtures and fittings

1.1 Maintenance

One of the keys to ensuring the long-term future of historic places of worship is regular maintenance. Preventative maintenance keeps up a building’s appearance and extends its life. It also prevents the loss of original fabric, as less material is lost in regular, minimal and small-scale work than in extensive restoration projects. Preventative maintenance makes economic sense as it may reduce or potentially eliminate the need for major repair projects. Most grant bodies will want to see that you have a maintenance plan in place.

A lot of maintenance jobs can be undertaken by volunteers and/or you can set up a regular contract with a local contractor to come and do an annual/twice-yearly inspection and clear out high level gutters and hard to reach drains and replace slipped slates etc.

The key is regular monitoring which can take the form of a regular walk around the inside and outside of the building checking for new damp patches or slipped slates.

If you don’t already have one, create a maintenance plan and assign a realistic annual budget to it.

Your diocese may have a maintenance scheme which is designed to make it easier to identify a local reliable contractor.

WHERE TO FIND MORE HELP

Historic England historicengland.org.uk/advice/caring-for-heritage/places-of-worship/maintenance

The Society for the Preservation of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) has an article on preventative maintenance spab.org.uk/advice/preventative-maintenance.

The website has detailed specialist and technical information on maintaining all elements of an old building including all types of roofs, heritage fabrics, all types of floors, caring for timber panelling and plasterwork and managing damp.  www.spab.org.uk/advice

Between 2007 and 2012, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and Historic England, SPAB ran the Faith in Maintenance Project (FiM) which offered free training to volunteers who care for historic places of worship, helping them to understand their buildings better and to carry out basic preventative maintenance. Between 2013 and 2017, the SPAB Maintenance Co-operatives Project (MCP), funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, again, provided free-of-charge, practical support to volunteers looking after historic places of worship. They also developed and tested the concept of Maintenance Co-operatives, the idea of encouraging groups of churches to work together to form working parties who would undertake regular maintenance across a number of buildings.

SPAB have put together a Toolkit containing information and resources drawn from the FiM and MCP projects to help you take care of your place of worship and set up your own Maintenance Co-operative spab.org.uk/campaigning/maintenance-co-operatives-project/mcp-fim-resources

ChurchCare has guidance  on maintenance at:

www.churchofengland.org/more/church-resources/churchcare/advice-and-guidance-church-buildings/building-maintenance-and-repair

If you are a parish looking for support with maintenance contact your DAC Secretary to find out what is available locally. Most dioceses will have guidance on how to undertake effective maintenance.

Several Church of England Dioceses run Maintenance Schemes which help churches link up with accredited local contractors. Some welcome the participation of other denominations. Current schemes include:

• GutterClear.org– for places of worship in Gloucestershire
• Gutter Maintenance Programme www.london.anglican.org/kb/gutter-maintenance-programme – for churches in the Diocese of London
• Gutter Clearance Scheme for churches in the Diocese of Chelmsford www.chelmsford.anglican.org/the-dac/gutter-clearance-scheme
• The Dioceses of Norwich and St Edmundsbury and Ipswich have been offering a joint scheme for churches in Norfolk and Suffolk. It is currently being revised so check with the relevant DAC.

For the  Catholic Church go to www.cbcew.org.uk/home/our-work/patrimony/care-of-churches/

For the United Reformed Church go to urc.org.uk/images/S811%20v2010.pdf

For the Methodist Church, you can download a guidance document called Inspection, Care and Maintenance of Methodist Buildings – A Guide to their Annual Inspection by going to:

www.methodist.org.uk/for-ministers-and-office-holders/property/ and clicking on ‘schedules and forms’.

For the Baptist Union of Great Britain, the leaflets on maintenance are LB06, Looking after your Church Buildings and LB07 Building Materials and External Fittings in Listed Churches baptist.org.uk/Articles/368708/BUC_Guideline_Leaflet.aspx

MaintenanceBooker is a service available, to churches and chapels throughout England and Wales, developed by the National Churches Trust. It makes it easier for places of worship to book maintenance services using professional and experienced contractors. Services available include gutter clearance and repairs, high level maintenance, masonry repairs and lime mortar repointing, lightning protection inspections, tree surveys and maintenance as well as asbestos surveys and removal. More Services are to be added soon. There are also grants available. www.maintenancebooker.org.uk

There are also grants available towards the cost of a number of fabric repair services available to book through MaintenanceBooker. www.maintenancebooker.org.uk/support/grants

The National Churches Trust’s Foundation Grant Programme will offer grants of between £500 and £5,000 towards urgent maintenance works and small repairs identified as high priority within a recent Quinquennial Report Inspection or Survey Report.

1.2 Care of internal fixtures and fittings

Places of Worship are major repositories of a wide range of significant historic and artistic objects. Unlike domestic items of comparable age, many of these are still in continuous use. While conservation and maintenance issues should be considered when using, handling, storing and displaying objects, it should also be remembered that these precious items were meant to be used in the context of worship. Conservation, together with appropriate and informed care, will ensure that the contents of your church will survive to fulfil that function.

Because many of these items will be of artistic and historic significance, you may have to seek professional advice. This will be especially true if you are going to be seeking funding to help you repair or conserve an object/s. You will be expected to commission a conservation report to identify what conservation work is required and to set out the method and materials to be used. You will have to employ an accredited conservator/expert to carry out the actual work.

WHERE TO FIND MORE HELP

For the Church of England, Churchcare provides guidance on how to care for a range of objects from bells and bell frames to textiles, from brasses to timberwork and furniture and including wall paintings and stained glass. They will also help you to identify the signs of damage to historic objects and understand the causes of deterioration. They are listed in alphabetical order so you will need to scroll down.

www.churchofengland.org/more/church-resources/churchcare/advice-and-guidance-church-buildings?search=&sort_bef_combine=title%20ASC&sort_by=title&sort_order=ASC&page=0

There is practical advice on managing conservation projects and how to work with a conservator here churchcare.co.uk/churches/art-artefacts-conservation/caring-for-conservation-of-artworks-historic-furnishings  and here www.churchofengland.org/more/church-resources/churchcare/advice-and-guidance-church-buildings/conservation-reports

www.churchofengland.org/more/church-resources/churchcare/advice-and-guidance-church-buildings/conservation-reports

The Catholic Church has advice and guidance for the care and conservation of churches and their contents here www.cbcew.org.uk/home/our-work/patrimony/care-of-churches/

For the Baptist Union of Great Britain, the Baptist Union Corporation has written leaflets to help local churches with practical issues, legal matters, property opportunities and problems, and charity law. baptist.org.uk/Groups/220867/Listed_Buildings.aspx The leaflet specific to internal fixtures and fittings is LB08, Furnishings in Listed Churches.

The UK Institute of Conservation is the main point of contact for locating Accredited Conservators for specialised work or advice. It also has guidance information on how to choose the right specialist. icon.org.uk

Conservators and Restorers can be found through the Conservation Register conservationregister.com

The Building Conservation Directory is an annual publication and an online database of suppliers and professional advisers. buildingconservation.com

The National Churches Trust’s website also includes a directory of professional advisers, building contractors and craftsmen at nationalchurchestrust.org/building-advice/professional-trades-directory.

Funding for conservation of fixtures and fittings

The Church of England’s Church Buildings Council is able to offer grants to PCCs and Friends groups for the repair and conservation of objects of artistic/historical significance in Anglican churches in England and in need of urgent repair.

www.churchofengland.org/more/church-resources/churchcare/our-conservation-grants

The National Lottery Heritage Fund now has a single open programme broken down into three streams: £3,000 to £10,000; £10,000 to £250,000 and applications over £250,000. You can apply to conserve an object or piece of heritage – this can include bells, clocks, organs, paintings on canvas & wood, wall paintings, monuments, timberwork, ornamental plasterwork, metalwork, books & manuscripts, textiles as well as historic structures and other conservation projects in churchyards. Your application must show how you are using your project to help people to learn about their own and their community’s heritage and are helping a wider range of people to take an active part in and make decisions about heritage. www.heritagefund.org.uk/hub/application-guidance