C O N T E X T 1 0 5 : J U LY 2 0 0 8 37 Conservation • Building • Restoration • Stone Masonry • Historic Façade Conservation • Sympathetic Restoration & Cleaning • Specialist Structural Repairs • Commercial & Residential Refurbishment CBR Limited Unit 21a • Holmethorpe Avenue • Redhill • Surrey RH1 2NB Telephone 01737 770110 Facsimile 01737 770115 E-mail [email protected] Web Site www.cbr-group.co.uk cbr CBR Limited is a Stonehealth Approved Contractor For further information please contact: London Office Danielle Pickard Tel: 020 7832 1477 Fax: 020 7832 1498 Cheltenham Office Nicholas Doggett Tel: 01242 259 290 Fax: 01242 259 299 Birmingham Office Julian Bagg Tel: 0121 237 6097 Fax: 0121 237 6100 Newark Office Mary Clemence Tel: 01636 653060 Fax: 01636 653065 www.cgms.co.uk CgMs Consulting is a leader in the field of Planning and the Historic Environment. With a total staff of 115 we can offer an integrated range of services relating to historic buildings and archaeology, including: • Planning Applications, Appeals, Public Inquiries • Historical & Archaeological Analysis, Research • Negotiation with English Heritage & Local Authorities • Desk–Top Studies, Environmental Statements • Building Recording • CAD Graphics, Medium-Format Photography CgMs Consulting has a track record of resolving issues during the development process, including those to do with listed buildings, conservation areas and locally listed buildings. CgMs Consulting is registered with the Institute of Field Archaeologists (IFA) and undertakes all work according to best practice. We have offices in London, Cheltenham, Newark and Birmingham. Becky Payne is policy officer for the Cathedral and Church Buildings Division, Church of England. existence, so that churches can share and learn from the experiences of those who have gone before. My best moments to date include finally signing off the Post Office guidelines on hosting post office services in a church or chapel. Coming as it did at the beginning of the Post Office programme of closures it has done a lot to raise the profile of churches as potential deliverers of services. There were also those decisions based on an instinctive guess which led to attendance at untested conferences and seminars, and finding that the presence of the Church of England with its stock of over 16,000 buildings is welcomed from the platform with open arms. One of the most positive things is keeping a list of good example case studies, not only as examples to other churches, but also for journalists, researchers, government departments and MPs. Good case studies, including the growing list of activities and events now taking place in churches, are one of the best ways of inspiring others to want to try it for themselves.These range from the imaginative and daring ‘ark’ inserted into the centre of St Paul’s, Old Ford, Diocese of London, to the neat ingenious ways in which village parish churches have managed the installation of kitchen units and lavatories such as at St Mary’s, Ottery, in the Diocese of Exeter. Both churches are now providing a vital resource to their communities. There is also the example of St Martin’s, which has become again the focus of Birmingham city centre, where the juxtaposition of the Grade II* church and the shiny blue-and-silver modern Selfridges building works amazingly well, not least when sitting in the Selfridges terrace café looking down on the church. The satisfying part is that it does all make sense. Bringing churches back to the heart of their communities as real resources is the best way of sustaining them for the future as living buildings and being able to retain their original purpose as primarily places of worship. Now when I visit churches (sometimes dragging friends in with me, not always unwillingly), not only do I look at the architecture and the craftwork, but I also look for signs of how the church is engaging with its local community – the photographs, the visitors book, the notice board. The conundrum is that I still want to find that unique atmosphere, that quiet tranquil space that makes being in a church special. At the same time as encouraging this wider use, we still need to find a way of leaving and sustaining some churches – maybe those with great architectural and historical importance, and those for whom a wider use is not possible – as quiet, sacred places.
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