Churches Conservation Trust

Holy Trinity, Sunderland — a Grade I listed church under the care and ownership of the Trust.

The Churches Conservation Trust, which was initially known as the Redundant Churches Fund, is a charity whose purpose is to protect historic churches at risk, those that have been made redundant by the Church of England.^[1] The Trust was established by the Pastoral Measure of 1968.^[1] The legally defined object of the Trust is "the preservation, in the interests of the nation and the Church of England, of churches and parts of churches of historic and archaeological interest or architectural quality vested in the Fund ... together with their contents so vested".^[2] The charity cares for over 340 churches.^[1] The Trust is financed partly by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Church Commissioners, but grants from those bodies were frozen in 2001, since when additional funding has come from other sources, including the general public. In the 12 months ending 31 March 2010 the charity's income was £6,161,653, and its spending was £6,035,871. During that year it had 44 employees, and used the services of 2,000 volunteers.^[3] The charity is run by a board of trustees, who delegate the day-to-day management to a chief executive and his senior management team.^[4]

The Trust's primary aim is to ensure that the buildings in its care are weatherproof and to prevent any deterioration in their condition. The majority of the churches remain consecrated, and many are occasionally still used for worship. Local communities are encouraged to use them for appropriate activities and events, and the buildings provide an educational resource, allowing children and young people to study history and architecture. More than 1.5 million people visit the Trust's churches each year.^[1] As most of the churches remain consecrated, they are used for occasional services where this is practical, and some are venues for concerts and other purposes.

Lists of churches maintained

East of England

• List of churches preserved by the Churches Conservation Trust in the East of England

This list contains the churches in the counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, and Suffolk.

English Midlands

• List of churches preserved by the Churches Conservation Trust in the English Midlands

This list contains the churches in the counties of Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Northamptonshire, and Gloucestershire.

Northern England

• List of churches preserved by the Churches Conservation Trust in Northern England

This list contains the churches in the counties of Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, Cumbria, Yorkshire, Lancashire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester and Cheshire.

South East England

• List of churches preserved by the Churches Conservation Trust in Southeast England

This list contains the churches in the counties of Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Greater London, Berkshire, Hampshire, Surrey, Kent, West Sussex, and East Sussex.

South West England

• List of churches preserved by the Churches Conservation Trust in South West England

This list contains the churches in the counties of Bristol, Wiltshire, Somerset, Dorset, Devon and Cornwall.

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} About us, Churches Conservation Trust, http://www.visitchurches.org.uk/AboutCCTourwork/Aboutus/, retrieved 1 April 2011 
2. ^ Pastoral Measure 1983:Section 44(4), National Archives, 1983, http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukcm/1983/1/section/44, retrieved 1 April 2011  (Pastoral Measure 1983 consolidates Pastoral Measure 1968 with later legislation.)
3. ^ Churches Conservation Trust, Charity Commission for England and Wales, http://www.charitycommission.gov.uk/Showcharity/RegisterOfCharities/CharityWithPartB.aspx?RegisteredCharityNumber=258612&SubsidiaryNumber=0, retrieved 20 December 2010 
4. ^ Who we are, Churches Conservation Trust, http://www.visitchurches.org.uk/AboutCCTourwork/Whoweare/, retrieved 1 April 2011 

External links

• Official site