7092 Major Parish Churches; physical condition, resources and sustainability

Historic England wishes to commission a project to focus on a sample of a group of the Church of England’s major parish churches, seeking an independent assessment of their vulnerabilities and the threats they face including the condition of the fabric and resources available.

For the purposes of this project ‘Major Parish Churches’ are defined as GI and II* churches which are over 1000sqm floor space, with exceptions for those which are smaller than this or Grade II, but score very highly on other set criteria, e.g. numbers of visitors.

These buildings are historically significant and accommodate all the pastoral responsibilities of parish churches but also provide wider ministry to meet civic, community and county needs.

The research aims to explore their current physical condition and the resources available to maintain, repair, manage and sustain them.

It will identify what factors make these buildings particularly vulnerable to significant loss of distinctive heritage value and what, if anything, threatens their long term use.

This is a partnership project for Historic England, Heritage Lottery Fund, the Greater Churches Network, the Church Buildings Council and Doncaster Minster.