Added when	Item (grey means it is out of date)
May 2009	Last chance to enter for the Art and Christianity Enquiry (ACE) Award for Religious Architecture. Details here.
9 May 2009	The Churches Conservation Trust is celebrating its 40th Anniversary this year. There is a range of interesting events in their wonderful buildings. Visit their site at www.visitchurches.org.uk
7 Feb 2009	A day course is being run at Oxford on 15 May on sharing space inside church buildings with secular organisations. Details on our events page.
7 Feb 2009	English Heritage have relaunched their scheme for Support Officers for Historic Places of Worship. They are open to proposals for such posts, for which they pay half the costs. Details here
7 Feb 2009	Four water companies – United Utilities, Northumbrian Water, Yorkshire Water and Severn Trent – had announced that they will in future charge churches and other charitable buildings (such as Scout Huts) the same as commercial companies for drainage. Things have since moved on. To find out more details, and make your own mind up on this, see www.DontDrainUs.org
	Country Life are running a competition for ‘Unsung heroes of the rural church’. Entries must be in by 31 May. Details here
9 May 2009	Plaudits to all! - a joint paper called Realising the Potential has been produced by the Government and the Church of England to help faith groups identify sources of funding to make them better able to deliver public services, etc. This is a major success, as it brought together a number of government departments at ministerial level to consider the issues, including any ‘squeamishness’ that funding providers may have in allocating public funds to faith groups. You can download the paper  here
9 May 2009	English Heritage have appointed Linda Monckton as Head of Research Policy for Historic Places of Worship. We are awaiting futher details but believe she is taking up her role in early Autumn.
7 Feb 09	The Diocese of London has recently been working on the largest mapping exercise in London, to help allocate its money and other resources sensibly.  To explore the maps, click here (they are slow-loading, but fascinating).
7 Feb 09	Deadline soon! 17 Feb.  The Village Church for Village Life award was launched last year, and is now running for the second year, looking for the 'finest example of a historic, rural parish church that has successfully engaged the wider community to create a focus for village life '. Churchyards included.  Details here.
7 Feb 09	Deadline soon! 20 Feb.  English Heritage are recruiting a replacement Head of Research Policy for Places of Worship. This is an important role, using evidence to make a difference to the future of historic churches and other places of worship.  Details here.
5 Nov 08	Award worth £10,000. The Village Church for Village Life award was launched last year, and is now running for the second year, looking for the 'finest example of a historic, rural parish church that has successfully engaged the wider community to create a focus for village life '. Churchyards included! No formal deadline yet, but time will be tight - the deadline for applications is likely to early February. Details here.
9 June 08	The Advisory Board for Redundant Churches was disbanded during June. As its legacy, it has published thorough criteria for assessing the value of closed & closing churches (following public consultation on these).
9 Oct 08	English Heritage's Inspired! campaign now has a dedicated website.
5 Nov 08	York Minster's Great East Window. An important two-day conference in York exploring John Thornton's great medieval window, undergoing restoration. A one-off opportunity. 25 - 26 November. Details here.
5 Nov 08	The Church of England has published its annual statistics, apparently only available online. Available here.
27 Aug 08	Conference on 'Monumental Industry: carved tomb production in the fourteenth century’. 25 October, in York. Details here.
22 Oct 08	Consultation on Sanctuary, at Christchurch, Spitalfields, with speaker Sir Roy Strong, on Friday 17 October. Details here.
15 Oct 08	Building a temple for the third millennium: new directions in church architecture. Two lectures, 2.30 25 October, Basingstoke. Details here
9 Oct 08	Lloyd Grossman will be talking about the work of the Churches Conservation Trust, at 6.00 for 6.30 on Thursday 16 October in London. Details here.
Sep 2008	'Held in Trust', an exhibition of medieval and later religious artefacts preserved over the centuries by Stonyhurst College. The exhibition closes on 27 September 2008. It is being held at St Francis Xavier church, in Liverpool. Details here.
2 August 2008	Job opportunity. A new heritage grouping has been formed to concentrate on churches and other places of worship. They are advertising for a part-time development officer (deadline 11 August). Here is the advertisement, the job description, and the application form. Added 2 August 2008
20 June 2008	Last chance to comment on the draft Ecclesiastical Exemption Guidance and Code of Conduct (if you don't understand this, then you needn't bother). Comments by 27 June.
9 June 2008	A splendid exhibtion at Goldsmith's Hall, London, entitled Treasures of the English Church: Sacred Gold and Silver 800 - 2000 More than 330 objects. Details on our  events page or here
19 June 2008	Lots of interesting events coming up! For example, a lecture on the architect Cachemaille-Day on 29 June, a study day on aspects of ecclesiastical silver on 7 July, and a lecture on  the glass at King's College on 17 July. Details on our events page.
11 May 2008	Natural England have published Bats in churches: a management guide.  At first glance it doesn't seem to offer much relief to those whose church interiors are suffering from these legally protected (but dirty) creatures. You can download a copy here. And here is a case study.
11 May 2008	People news. Janet Gough has been appointed the new Director of Cathedrals and Church Buildings, responsible for national policy on the Church of England's 16,000 places of worship and for developing and maintaining relations between Church and State, and with national and local bodies on church building matters.
11 May 2008	Cadw have announced maintenance grants for places of worship in Wales. English Heritage application pack for repair grants for places of worship in England is available - Grade I and II listed buildings must apply by 30 June, Grade II by 30 Sep.
8 May 2008	The Temple Church in London has an exhibition running until 15 June, including plaster casts of the effigies showing them before war damage. Details on our events page or here, and also details of a conference at the Temple church on 14 June (details here).
13 May 2008	Craftsmen of St Margaret's - a talk on 30 May about the famous craftsmen who worked at St Margaret's, Lee, South London. Details on our events page or here.
28 Feb 2008	SPAB are running 'Faith in Maintenance' one-day courses for church wardens and those with similar responsibilities for church buildings. Courses are taking place up and down the country. Details here.
28 Feb 2008	Westminster Abbey has a series of free evening lectures on the history of the Abbey, and its interpretation. In late March, Salisbury Cathedral is celebrating the 750th anniversary of its dedication with a 48-hour conference.  The image shown here is copyright. Added 28 Feb 2008
12 Nov 2007	Two exhibitions in London related to churches. At the National Gallery, an exhibition on German Renaissance stained glass. At the Victoria and Albert museum, an exhibition of drawings by the Victorian architect G. F. Bodley. Details on our events page.
20 Jan 2008	Friday 8 Feb: Taking Stock: the rapid assessment of historic church buildings -  a day course at Rewley House, Oxford
8 Jan 2008	The Advisory Board for Redundant Churches has begun a consultation on its criteria for assessing the heritage value of closed and closing churches. To read and perhaps comment, visit their website and scroll down to pdf document called 'criteria' under Dec 2007.
7 Jan 2008	New award worth £10,000. The Village Church for Village Life award (being promoted by Country Life magazine) will be presented for 'the finest adaptation of a historic rural parish church which allows for its continuing life as a place of worship as well as encouraging a use of the building for the wider benefit of the village community in the 21st century'. Time is tight - applications in by 5 February. More . . .
14 Dec 2007	A new heritage grouping has been set up for places of worship. It will be 'an action-oriented national forum designed to strengthen the "third sector" voice on historic places of worship in national debates on heritage'. It is called placesofworship @heritagelink. More. . ..
25 Nov 2007	People news. A new Head of Places of Worship Policy has been appointed at English Heritage. She is Mrs Diana Evans. But no announcement yet on the EH website . . . Prince Charles has agreed to be patron of the Churches Conservation Trust. Nothing on their website either . . . The Church of England is looking for a new Head of the Churches and Cathedrals Division of the Archbishops' Council, following Paula Griffiths decision to move on.
24 Nov 2007	At our recent conference, c b newham reported that the project he is directing to photographically record all the rural churches in England is about halfway through. The current coverage of the project is shown here, the progress here, the digital resolution here, and a typical collection of thumbnails for one church here.
24 Nov 2007	On Thursday 13th December at 7.00 for 7.30pm there is a lecture by the Bishop of Salisbury on 'The English Altar' at St Cyprian's Clarence Gate, London, a remarkable church by Sir Ninian Comper. Donations for restoration of Comper's altar.
28 Oct 2007	The Victorian Society is campaigning to save the pews in the (fictional) Ambridge church. more . . .
11 Sep 2007	The Friends of Friendless Churches is celebrating its fiftieth birthday. During the weekend of 28/29 September there is the chance to see a good number of its Welsh churches. Details here.
11 Sep 2007	The National Churches Trust is the new public name and face for what was previously the Historic Churches Preservation Trust (and ICBS). The new name represents a significant expansion of its ambition. Read more here.
11 Sep 2007	English Heritage are now providing a database of all churches which they or the Heritage Lottery Fund have given grants for repairs. Only one year of information is provided. It is hard to see what casual use can be made of this data, but it does provide a degree of public pressure for the churches to be open as specified in their grant conditions.
17 Aug 2007	Loyd Grossman OBE has been appointed Chairman of the Churches Conservation Trust. Image from National Museums Liverpool
4 July 2007	Sir Roy Strong, the eminent art historian, has made a powerful plea for churches to be given a new lease of life as centres of community.  The photo of Sir Roy is from the website of Random House Books.
4 July 2007	Maps of some 20 English counties, showing which rural churches are locked and unlocked, are now available again from the Digiatlas Foundation website. This image is taken from that website and is copyright.
24 Aug 2007	English Heritage are advertising for a Head of Places of Worship Policy, to replace Richard Halsey who is retiring. (Amongst other things, Richard was responsible for English Heritage's major Inspired! campaign). Applications in by 3 September. Details  here.
9 Aug 2007	Medieval mass. The Gild of Clerks will be keeping the Assumption of Our Lady with a high mass and procession according to the (medieval) Use of Sarum. The aim is to present a typical parochial mass of the 1490s - so it will be a chant mass with a very modest altar party. Saturday 18 August at 3pm, in the medieval church of St Peter Hungate in Norwich. (There will be a charge of £3.50, proceeds going towards the work of the Gild of Clerks and the Norwich Historic Churches Trust.) more . . .
4 July 2007	Nineteenth-century French churches may be at risk.  A story which is hard to interpret, carried in the Daily Telegraph of 28 May 2007.
4 July 2007	This important position statement from the Advisory Board for Redundant Churches argues that their abolition would lead to conflicts of interest in deciding the future of churches no longer required for worship.
2 June 2007	The medieval doom has now been restored to Dauntsey church, Wiltshire after restoration. Click for some pictures (full doom, detail), provided by our correspondent, Church Crawler.
2 June 2007	Members may wish to glance at the accounts and report for 2006, which are on the members' page. No password is needed, and anyone may view the page.
2 June 2007	Cathedrals charging. The Bishop of London has mounted a vigorous defence in the Daily Telegraph of some cathedrals charging for admission.
2 June 2007	The church of St Peter, Barton-on-Humber, has now been re-opened  as a 'fully-fledged visitor attration', including an exhibition, Buried Lives . The church is well-known for being one of the first buildings with identifiable Saxon work. It was thoroughly excavated  in the early 1980s, and the bones are now to be restored to consecrated ground in a specially-built ossuary. An analysis of the 3,000 plus burials is to be published by Oxbow books. This image is copyright.
28 April 2007	The Churches Conservation Trust and others are organising a series of events to celebrate the centenary of the death of Bodley and Kempe. The individual events will later be added to our programme page.
	Lecture and AGM 30 May 2007, 6.30pm, central London The lecture at our AGM this year is on St George's Church, Jesmond, an arts and crafts church of great distinction. All are welcome. To find out more, go to events and scroll to 30 May.The image is from the website of the church.
28 April 2007	The new journal, Material Religion, has won the runners-up prize for 'Best New Journal' 2006, awarded by the Council of  Editors of Learned Journals. The Journal covers the physical artefacts of all religions.
3 May 2007	c b newham, who provides our image of the month, is giving a talk about Dunton church, Bucks, at the church, on Sunday 20th May, at 3pm. There will also be a selection of some of his extraordinary collection of church photographs. Details on our events page.
28 April 2007	Provo Catholic church, Utah, USA, about to be demolished to make way for flats. An insight into the approach taken to redundant churches in this part of the world. Report from Utah News. Thanks to our member David Critchley for pointing this out.  The image is copyright.
8 Mar 2007	The government has published its Heritage White Paper. This is intended to modernise  a fragmented system. It's too early to take a considered view, but it is notable that ecclesiastical exemption from listed building consent will continue. English Heritage have issued  principles of selection - that on places of worshp is a useful primer on the historic development of religiious buildings.
Feb 2007	St Colman's Cathedral, Cobh, Co. Cork, Ireland, has been at the centre of heated discussion about a proposed reordering of the sanctuary. The case went to appeal, and it was recently announced that the planning application was refused. This link takes you to the site of the Friends of St Colman's, who include on their site a full transcript of the hearing. The Ecclesiological Society has no corporate view on this particular proposal, but we welcome the way in which the Friends website has opened up the subject for full debate.  Image copyright
Feb 2007	An article in the Feb 12, 2007 issue of Newsweek deals with the Europe-wide problem of churches no longer needed for worship. The picture shows Zizzi restaurant in Cheltenham, occuping a nineteenth-century Anglican church.  Image copyright
Added 29 Sep 06, modified mid Nov. modified again January 2007	Sir Ninian Comper In September 2006 the Society published a book on Sir Ninian Comper, church architect, issued free to members.  More . . .  Added 29 Sep 06, modified mid Nov. modified again January 2007
Jan 2007	A report commissioned by the Government has shown how important the life of the church is to rural communities, and, by implication, the importance of the church building. No surprises there, but this has often been overlooked in policy making. Clicking on the picture takes you to the summary report (four pages) or you can read all 68 pages of the full report.
Jan 2007	A strategy has been launched for tourism for churches and other places of worship. It is written in managementspeak, but the basic idea is surely sound. Click here or on the picture and then go to the 'library' page to read. Added January 2007
Jan 2007	The Government has been encouraged to think about the future of church buildings in a well-informed and forward-looking debate in the House of Lords and a short adjournment debate in the House of Commons, and by a Select Committee report on heritage (see page 63 of the report), which was based on a range of interesting written and oral evidence. The Government's response was a disappointment. In the meantime, good news from the Heritage Lottery Fund, who have confirmed their long-term commitment to funding repair grants to listed places of worship. Added January 2007
29 Sep 2006	Parish churches are an English icon. The English Parish Church is now an 'official' icon of England, following the high number of votes received on the Icons of England website. Not really a surprise, is it?
1 Nov 2006	EH Places of Worship Forum English Heritage has a three-monthly meeting discussing their policies for places of worship. The minutes are now online. Trevor Cooper, Chairman of Council of the Ecclesiogical Society, is a member of the forum, and is happy to discuss its work. The EH Inspired! mini-website continues to expand.
May 2006	SANCTUARY UK! - read Lawrence Mortimer's blog and comment on his concept paper for a national umbrella organisation for supporting local church buildings. more . . .
25 Feb 2006	Oral evidence to the DCMS Select Committee, heard 14 Feb 2006, from three bodies concerned with the church buildings heritage (Churches Conservation Trust, Historic Chapels Trust, Advisory Board for Redundant Churches). Click here, and scroll half way down the page.
17 Feb 2006	A campaign for churches was called for by the Bishop of London at the recent synod debate (on 9 Feb) on the future of church buildings (for material in advance of the synod, see entry below under 20 Jan 2006).You can listen to his speech. Click here to listen . . . (ignore the first 30 seconds of applause).
20 Jan 2006	An English Heritage-led campaign to secure a future for church buildings. It will launch formally in Spring 2006. More . . .
20 Jan 2006	Should this church be listed? St William of York, Du Cross Drive, Stanmore was built in 1959-60 to the designs of Hector Corfiato, and is 'a particularly refined and exceptionally complete example of a 1950s church'. The government is asking the public for its views on listing it - click here for more information. Click here for the original of the photograph (copyright).
20 Jan 2006	The Bishop of London asks government to give more money for church repairs. As reported in the UK national press earlier this week, the Bishop of London is asking the government to give greater support for the repair of church buildings.  Here is The Times and the Daily Telegraph. This coincides with the publication of a paper for February's debate at General Synod on church buildings (click here and scroll down to Thursday 9th February). To find out more about the general problem of the over-supply of churches, look at our churches future page. (Image copyright.)
Sep 2006	Annual conference Members will know that the conference, due to be held on Saturday 7 October 2006, has been postponed until next year. More  . Added 29 Sep 06
May 2006	Last chance to book 'Rituals and the Parish', day conference at Warwick, Saturday 20 May.
May 2006	Music in late medieval cathedrals - day conference in Oxford, Saturday 6 May. more . .
April 2006	Last chance to book: for the Jubilee festival of All Saints', Cambridge - 22 - 23 April. Not to be missed for anyone interested in Victorian art, architecture, design, William Morris, Burne-Jones etc. Organised by the Churches Conservation Trust. Click here for details, or on www.visitchurches.org.uk to book, or phone 020 7213 0680.
Jan 2006	BBC series more . . .
1 Jan 2006	Your chance to influence the government, as they consult on the future of lottery money, including the Heritage Lottery Fund - give fifteen minutes of your time to tell the government whether you think heritage (including our heritage of churches) is important. The deadline is the end of February. This is very important - don't leave it too late more . . .
1 Jan 2006	The Council for the Care of Churches Library at Church House is closed until Spring 2007, when the current refurbishment of the premises is expected to be complete.  more . . .
29 Sep 2005	Church of England statistics published, including cost of outstanding repairs to church buildings - click here for the press release, and here for the full set of figures.
23 Sep 2005	Lecture - just notified 'If Stones Could Talk: An analysis of the architecture of Ashby St Ledger Church’: Lecture by Bob Meeson, FSA and Historic Building Specialist, held as part of a fundraising campaign for tower repairs (Ashby Village Hall, Northamptonshire, Saturday 1 October 2005, at 3 pm) For other events, look at our events page.
23 Sep 2005	English Heritage is seeking a new Commissioner, for Places of Worship. Applications have to be in by 14 October 2005. Here is a link to the website and here are the two files you need - details and an application form.
11 August 2005	Ecclesiastical Exemption - the way forward - a report from Department of Culture Media and Sport. It will allow voluntary management agreements for church sites for exempt denominations. Technical stuff, but important. For background information, go to current issues.
2 July 2005	Trustees sought for Churches Conservation Trust. The Trust cares for more than 300 redundant churches and is actively working to increase their educational, cultural and community use.  Closing date: 11 July at 09.00 precisely. More . . .
2 July 2005	Conference on Sacred Silver at the Victoria and Albert Museum on 25 and 26 November 2005. Click here for details. This marks the opening of  the V&A’s new Gallery of Sacred Silver and Stained Glass. For other events, look at our events page.
2 July 2005	David Lammy, the new culture minister says he wants to start a dialogue to see if more can be done about historic church buildings. More . . .
10 June 2005	The Times horror story ... The Times (of London) led with a horror story on its front page on 8 June, implying incipient disaster for the Church of England - too few clerics, mass closure of church buildings.  Read the story here. In fact, this was a somewhat sensationalised version of a draft report to the Synod of the Church of England, which you can read here - scroll down the page until you get to the Resourcing Mission section at the bottom.  Here are some letters in The Times on the issue. For more on the future of churches, go to our page 'Churches Future'.
9 June 2005	A speech by Simon Thurley, Chief Executive of English Heritage outlining  his view of how churches need to position themselves better for public support, and also providing an insight into English Heritage's thinking about the future of church buildings
31 May 2005	NADFAS Church recorders - index of inventories The NADFAS Church Recorders have created detailed inventories for more than one thousand churches. About a quarter of these inventories have now been indexed. Go to www.nadfas.org.uk/churchrecorders.htm

Added to archive July 2005

A city to dwell in: church buildings and urban regeneration Day conference, 22 June, 2pm to 7pm, at St Paul's Bow, St Stephen's Road, London, E3 5JL. A conference to discuss the role of church buildings in urban regeneration. Further information from www.architectureweek.org.uk and to book email kpearson@shaftesburysoc.org.uk (or phone 0845 330 6033). Cost £25. Added 26 May 2005. For other events during the year, go to our events page. 

What future for what churches?  Details and call for papers This conference will take place in Canada in October 2005.  The call for papers expires at the end of May.  Added 19 May 2005. For more on this general topic, go to Churches future

Putting it off. This important report, recently published by Maintain our Heritage, pulls together the work they have carried out over the past few years. There are important messages about the care of our historic places of worship.  Added 12 May 2005.

Grant to investigate training of volunteers responsible for historic places of worship. Oh dear - we have been rather slow off the mark to spot this - but SPAB have been given a grant by the HLF to look at how the maintenance of churches and other places of worship is organised. Added 12 May 2005.

Conference on church pews. A one-day symposium organised by English Heritage on the future of church pews. Called 'To pew or not to pew', though the real issue is perhaps whether to unpew. 9 June 2005 at Lydiard Tregoze, outside Swindon, Wiltshire. Details from June.Warrington@english-heritage.org.uk. Added 12 May 2005. For other events during the year, go to our events page.

Second report on Brighton and Hove churches. Following considerable discussion two years ago, a second report on churches in Brighton and Hove recommends the closure of ten of them, with a further eleven to be kept under review.  Click here for link to the diocese of Chichester website and the full report. Added 22 April 2005. For more on this general topic, go to Churches future

Added to archive May 2005

Insight into the issues surrounding the closure of churches. A paper by Archdeacon Paul Ferguson, the second part of which is a clear description of the practical and human problems associated with the closure of Church of England church buildings. Added 9 March 2005. For more on this topic, go to Churches future.

The Lincolnshire Churches Festival 2005 spreads over two weekends - 7/8 May and 14/15 May. Many churches will be open. Find out more here.  Added 10 March 2005. For other events during the year, go to our events page.

The Art and Christianity Enquiry is asking for submissions for its 2005 awards, including the ACE/RIBA award for religious architecture. The awards are worth £3000. The deadline for submission is the end of May 2005. Details at ACE Added 12 February 2005.

Added to archive April 2005

Scottish church buildings and artefacts - past, present and future. A day conference in Edinburgh on Saturday 19 March. Details here. Added 10 March 2005. For other events during the year, go to our events page.

  Glasgow Churches Open Doors Day is on 23 March. 57 places of worship are opening their doors to the public, including 17 churches and former churches in the west end. Contact John Gair, Secretary, The Church Buildings Renewal Trust Tel 0141 287 8634 Added 7 March 2005 For other events during the year, go to our events page

Richard Halsey has taken up a newly-created role in English Heritage, as Places of Worship Strategy, Implementation Manager. This means that for the first time English Heritage has someone devoted full-time to driving forward their strategy for churches and other places of worship. Added 2 February 2005.

Added to archive March 2005

The Annual Reports of the Historic Churches Preservation Trust and the Churches Conservation Trust both came out towards the end of 2004. Both contain interesting and important material looking to the future rather then merely being self-congratulatory about the past. Details of these organisations on our 'Organisations' page. Added 25 January 2005.

A guidance note on the treatment of excavated human remains has just been published (25 January 2005) jointly by English Heritage and the Church of England. Snappily entitled Guidance for best practice for treatment of human remains excavated from Christian burial grounds in England, it will be of interest to those who are considering adding extensions to their churches, to archaeologists, and planners. You can download a copy from the Church of England website (or, I presume, the English Heritage website, though I couldn't find it there). Added 25 January 2005.

In late 2004 the Association of Diocesan and Cathedral Archaeologists published their Archaeological requirements for works on churches and churchyards. This can be downloaded from the Association's site. Added 25 January 2005.

The Autumn edition of the Conservation Bulletin, published by English Heritage, was devoted to places of worship, mostly churches. English Heritage kindly donated a copy for each of our members, which went out with our late Autumn mailing. To get on the mailing list for this free periodical, email mailinglist@english-heritage.org.uk Added 1 July 2004, altered January 2005.

An interesting lecture on 3 March in London, dealing with the work of George Pace, church architect. Given by Peter Pace. 18.30 at The Gallery, 77 Cowcross Street, London, EC1. Organised by the Twentieth Century Society (whose details are on our 'organisations' page). Added 5 February 2005.

Added to archive November 2004

We now have six responses to the government's recent consultation paper on ecclesiastical exemption. Only of interest if you already know what ecclesiastical exemption is . . . .click here Added 2 August 2004.

English Heritage are organising an interesting conference on Religion and Place Today: Buildings and Urban Communities. This is on 24 and 25 November in London. Click here and scroll down to November  Added 2 August 2004.

The stained glass website which was our site of the month in June 2004, has now increased its online image library from 5,000 to 12,000 images. Added 1 July 2004.

It is reported tht Tessa Jowell, the Secretary of State for Culture, has warned that the British Government is to slash the plethora of bodies safeguarding the national heritage to crack down on waste. In the firing line are such bodies as English Heritage, the Heritage Lottery Fund, and the Churches Conservation Trust, all of which are crucial to the support of historic churches in England and Wales. It is notable that the first and last of these have already suffered cuts in real terms over the past few years.  More (opens in new window).  Added 15 June 2004
 

Added to archive June 2004

Ecclesiastical Exemption -  in the UK, the Department of Culture, Media and Sport have launched a consultation on ecclesiastical exemption, by which the great majority of listed churches have changes controlled not by local authorities, but by the church denomination itself - click here for more information. Entry created 7 April 2004

Government puts a temporary export bar on the  archive of Britain’s leading conservators of medieval stained glass.  The papers comprise the records of G King & Son, Norwich-based lead glaziers established in 1924. Click here for more information. Entry created 8 April 2004

St Laurence Church, Eastwood and Southend airport. An update for those who have been following the threat to this church. Entry created 1 February 2004

Bodley's last major commission was Holy Trinity, Prince Consort Road, London. The church is celebrating the Centenary of its Consecration on Tuesday, 28 October, at 6.30 pm, when the Bishop of London, the Rt Revd Richard Chartres, will preside and preach at a Festal Eucharist, which will be followed by light refreshments.  The organisers have kindly offered an invitation to any Ecclsoc members who would like to atttend  - please let them know in advance, by emailing office.stjohnswood@london.anglican.org. Entry creaetd 10 October.

Brussels says 'No' to cutting VAT on church repairs - perhaps it's time for you to raise your voice, and write or email? - it could be your letter or email that saves million of pounds per year in church repairs.  Click here to find out about this and what you would need to do. Entry created 13 September

A Future for Church Buildings - recently published as a short booklet by the Church Heritage Forum, an important positioning paper for the Church of England as it considers how to deal with the fact that many of its churches are in the wrong place, and there are too many of them for its current needs. If you are seriously interested in the future of our churches, then buy it for £4.50 plus post from Church House Bookshop, 31 Great Smith Street, London,  SW1P 3BN UK tel: +44 (0)20 7898 1306 fax: +44 (0)20 7898 1305 email: bookshop@c-of-e.org.uk Entry created 9 August
 

Added to archive September 2003

Romanesque in and around Durham - important conference, 12 - 14 September 2003. Click here to find out more. Entry created 5 July

ACE prizes - £3000. It's still not too late to put forward examples church of art, or architecture (which can be new build or re-ordering), for the ACE prizes, as the deadline has been extended to 18 August. Find out more on the Art and Christianity Enquiry (ACE) website. Entry created 5 July.
 

Added to archive August 2003
 

Bodley and Garner tour - some places still left (as at 25 July). Organised by the Victorian Society. Click here to find out more. Entry created 25 July.

Workshop on 'Beyond Byzantium: The Archaeology of the Eastern Churches From St Thomas to Marco Polo'. Saturday July 12th 2003. Details.Entry created 3 June

Inflatable church. If you are looking for an inflatable church, your search may now be at an end. Click here . . . www.inflatablechurch.co . Entry created 26 May

Mobile phone masts in churches. In an important ruling, a church court has rejected health objections to mobile phone masts in two churches, though the court did place restrictions on the phone companies knowingly transmitting pornographic material. For details, click here, and for a printout of the judgement, click here. For the Church of England's position on transmission masts, click here. Entry created 26 May
 
 

Church plans online. The  archive of  ICBS church plans is now online at www.churchplansonline.org. Search by place, date or architect. An important and useful site. Entry created 17 May

Ipswich, Mass., USA where a new church steeple has been built courtesy of a mobile phone company. More . . . (Thanks to Alicia for alerting us to this.) Entry created 2 May 2003

Entry updated 23 April 2003 St Laurence and All Saints church, Eastwood, Essex. Southend Council have recently rejected a planning application to demolish (wholly or partly) a Grade I listed medieval church under threat from a nearby airport More . .

Snippets on recent discoveries in Essex churches, click here. Entry created 2 May 2003.

English Heritage grant application forms now available - grants are available this year for Grade II as well as Grade I and II* churches. Click here, which takes you to the Conserving Historic Places page on the EH site, from which you click on 'A guide to grants' at top left, then on 'Repair grants to for Places of Worship in England'. Note that EH now make it a condition of new grants that the architect in charge is conservation accredited (find out more from your DAC or denominational headquarters). Entry created 2 April 2003.
 

Added to archive May 2003

Churches and maps After some confusion and misunderstanding, the Ordnance Survey has issued a  press release confirming that it is to remove churches and chapels from maps if the building is no longer used for worship - unless the building is needed for navigational purposes (for example, has a spire). The press release points out that this has been their policy for some time. Update 17 May - click on More .
Entry created 10 May 2003, updated 11 May; updated 14 May; updated 16 May; updated 17 May.

National Aerials Agreement The Church of England National Aerials Agreement has a website with good information about using churches for mobile telecommunications installations, and the opportunity to register an interest for your church. Entry created 2 March 2003.

A CD ROM of images. A CD ROM of images of 'Sepulchral Effigies in Leicestershire and Rutland' is now available. It contains 500 images of 177 effigies in 85 churches. £13.50 from the Heart of England Press, 2 Cross Hill Close, Wymeswold, Loughborough, LE12 6UJ. With the advent of digital cameras and cheap low-volume production of CDs, this must surely be the way forward for large collections of images to be made widely available. Over time, this has the potential to transform the study of churches. See for example, the Digital Atlas of England Project. Entry created March 2003.

'Looking back, Going Forward: 20th Century Attitudes towards Religious Buildings Churches'. A conference organised by English Heritage 26-27 June, 2003. Find out more on our events page. Entry created 1 March 2003.

Trial database of funeral monuments in British Churches.You can access the trial database of funeral monuments being created under the aegis of the University of Sussex. Here's the link to the database, and here's a link to the old press release announcing the project. Thanks to Dr Digi for this information. Entry created 1 March 2003.

A review of churches in York has concluded that a number should be closed. More . . .

Added to archive April 2003

The Bishop of St Albans is researching Easter Sepulchres, and would welcome undocumented examples. He can be contacted via his researcher and chaplain on the easter sepulchre website which has been set up.

Call for papers for conference 'Creating identities: funeral monuments and public memorials in Europe' to be held in the Museum for Sepulchral Culture, Kassel, Germany, from 31 October to 2 November 2003. More . . . Entry created 9 Feb 2003

Added to archive March 2003

St John's Church, Newbury is one of the finest by our late President, Stephen Dykes Bower, built after the earlier church was bombed during the war. During 8 -10 February 2003 there is a weekend of commemoration culminating in an act of remembrance of those who died in the attack. on 10 February 1943. You can get details from St John's website, and the information the site provides about Dykes Bower makes it our site of the month.

The Church of England recently ran a competition for church websites. There were six hundred entries. Here are the three winners
1. St Paul's, Dorking, Surrey
2. St Mary and St Nicholas, Spalding, Lincs
3. Holy Spirit, Southsea, Hants
and here is where you can find out more: Church of England online Gazette