C O N T E X T 1 0 5 : J U LY 2 0 0 8 33 Sarah Robinson Hubs of their communities The Churches Conservation Trust recognises that more difficult to define than the loss of historic fabric is a neglected church’s symbolism and discouraging effect on local people. Concern for the future of historic places of worship is now mainstream. It has taken a while, and endless lobbying fromEnglish Heritage, the Church of England and the many smaller heritage bodies, including the Churches ConservationTrust, who look after places of worship. Since the pioneering days of its first chairman, Sir Ivor Bulmer Thomas, the trust has become one of the most significant owners and guardians of historic buildings. Established in 1969, the Churches Conservation Trust (or the Redundant Churches Fund, as it was then called) was and is still funded by a unique partnership between church and state. Our remit is to maintain for the nation English churches of particular architectural, historic or archaeological merit, which are no longer needed for parish worship. We look after 340 historic churches spanning a millennium of building and architectural history. They speak eloquently of their religious purpose and identity. Some of them are small and charming, others austere; some have been diminished by events and others have retained their grandeur. Every one has something wonderful or surprising to repay the visitor. The namewas changed to theChurchesConservation Trust in 1994. It had become clear that although these churches did not have a place as a parish church they were certainly not redundant. Very many played an important role in the life of their communities. St John’s Chapel has continuously played host to concerts of the Chichester Festivities. St Leonard’s in Bridgnorth, Shropshire, hosted the famous Haydn Festival for many years. Almost every church held, and still holds, occasional services, especially at Easter, Christmas or Harvest. Flower festivals, musical concerts and art exhibitions have always been regular events. Intrinsic to our work is the aim of restoring the churches in our care as a hub of their communities, rather like their role during the middle ages when the nave was the responsibility of the local community and the chancel that of the church authorities. The trust’s staff in the regions are working in partnership with friends groups, local bodies and supporters to make the churches available for a variety of uses where appropriate, always aware that they remain consecrated. This means taking a sensitive and considered approach to new facilities to make them useful: heating, lighting, a toilet, perhaps, and a teapoint. St Mary, Redgrave in Suffolk has recently seen the completion of such work. A Grade I listed building, it is particularly noted for its heraldry and superb monuments, including that to Sir John Holt (1709) and the Bacon effigies (1620s). The trust worked closely with a team of skilled volunteers, the Redgrave Church Heritage Trust, who energetically raised the finance and obtained all of the necessary permissions. The mini-kitchen is hidden within modifications to furniture which was already there. Three new toilets form a removable pod over an old heating pit in the tower. Access from the church to the tower is through the organ casing, using visually similar panelling, created by opening up an arch that was concealed behind the organ. The power supplies, capable of supporting any theatrical performance, are completely flexible, using a minimum of permanent wiring. The main cable goes underground outside the church, leaving no cabling through the church itself. The main body of the church looks almost the same as before. Anything new can be easily removed, returning the church to its previous state. St John’s Chapel, Chichester The Bacon effigy at St Mary’s, Redgrave
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