General Repository
This page holds copies of documents and reports, some of which might otherwise be hard to find. Some are current, but many are out of date but can still provide important background or are of historical interest. They are organised as sensibly as possible, but you may need to browse to find what you are looking for. Copyright resides with the original copyright holder, normally the institution that published the document.
We are aware of gaps. Please let us know of other material we could usefully put on this page, especially if you can provide a copy!
International
Across UK (at least two home countries)
Church and State
General, including VAT
- National Churches Trust Survey Report (National Churches Trust, 2011)
- Churchgoing in the UK (Tearfund, 2007)
- VAT and churches (House of Commons Library, 2014)
- Number of listed places of worship in UK (2016)
- Quaker Meeting Houses (GB) (2017)
- Guidelines for decommissioning Catholic churches (2018)
- VAT and churches (House of Commons Library, 2019)
Examples of application forms for grants (various)
- Listed Places of Worship (VAT recovery) application_form (2014) LPOW guidance_notes (2014) (DCMS, current at 2018)
- Roof fund application form example Roof fund guidance Roof Fund standard terms (DCMS/NHMF, 2015/16; scheme now closed historic interest only)
- GPOW application_form GPOW application guidance (2013) GPOW application guidance (2016) Independent GPOW application guidance England (National Churches Trust/Lincoln diocese) (HLF, scheme now closed, historic interest only)
England only (for Scotland only and Wales only, scroll down)
Assessment of impacts of grant schemes and other specific interventions, including VAT (date order)
- Impact of VAT on church properties Tables (Churches Main Committee, 2000)
- A review of the Rural Churches in Community Service Programme (Rowe, 2003)
- Asessment of impact of places of worship funding 1996-2002 (focus on conservation, community, usage) (HLF and EH, 2005)
- Review of funding to places of worship 1996-2005 (HLF and EH, 2005)
- Ten years on – a review of the Millennium Commission Funded Rural Churches in Community Service Programme (Rowe, 2009)
- Listed places of worship grant impact assessment (EH, 2010) Key findings (EH, 2010)
- Repair grants for places of worship impact assessment (EH, 2010)
- Evaluating the impact of the Churches Conservation Trust Model for Investment (HE, 2015)
- Social enterprise and rural places_of_worship (HLF; drafted 2012, published 2017)
- Roof Repair Fund Project Evaluation Final Report (2017) 2015 roof fund list of results 2016 roof fund list of results
Descriptions/categorisation of places of worship by Historic England
- Nineteenth- and twentieth-century convents and monasteries
- Nonconformist places of worship
- Twentieth-century Roman Catholic church architecture in England
- Nineteenth- and twentieth-century Roman Catholic churches
- Commissioners’s churches 1 Commissioners’ churches 2 Commissioners’ churches 3 (EH, 2006)
- Places of worship listing selection guide (2017, current) Places_of_worship_listing selection guide (2011; not current) Places_of_Worship_Selection_Guide (2003; out of date)
- Buddhist Buildings in England (2016)
Asssessment/support of social impact, social capital etc from churches (date order)
- Faith in Action (East of England, 2003)
- Civic contribution of faith communities (North West Development Agency, 2003)
- Economic impact assessment of faith communities (North West development forum, 2005)
- Faith in the east of England – role played by faith communities (Joint study, 2005)
- Faith in rural communities: contributions of social capital to community vibrancy Summary (Defra, 2006)
- Faith and voluntary action (NCVO, 2007)
- Faith Groups’ Contributions to Social action / culture (2008)
- Resourcing Christian Community Action (CofE, 2012)
- Church in Action (2015)
- Faith action audit (Cinnamon, 2015)
- Social Action (CofE, 2017)
- House of Good (NCT 2020) House of Good UPDATE (NCT, 2021) House of Good Technical (NCT, 2020) Blogs, videos etc at https://www.houseofgood.nationalchurchestrust.org/
- Churches, Covid-19 and Communities: Experiences, Needs and Supporting Recovery (Christianity and Culture, 2021)
Toolkits / advice for community engagement / building projects etc
- Churches Community Value Toolkit for Methodists (CUF, 2006)
- Crossing the Threshold – regularly update, see https://www.hereford.anglican.org/parish-support/community-partnership/crossing-the-threshold-toolkit/
Inspired campaign (English Heritage, 2005)
- Inspired!: fabric needs survey (summary)
- Inspired!: taking stock
- Inspired! launch booklet
- Inspired!: press release
Leveraging buildings
Tourism / church visitors
- Sacred Britain: places of worship and the tourism destination experience (CCT/CTA, 2006)
- Great Interpretations Evaluation Report (May 2019)
Local reports on keeping church buildings etc (date order)
National Reports etc on keeping church buildings and related topics, (date order)
- First Report of Central Committee for Protection of Churches (1923) (scanned) Includes a thorough and useful description of the setting up of Diocesan Advisory Committees in the Church of England.
- The Preservation of Our Churches (1951) Important report for the Church of England which led amongst other things to the setting up of what is now the National Churches Trust. Preservation to page 56 (scanned) Preservation page 57 to end (scanned)
- Commission on Redundant Churches 1958-60 (scanned) Report for the Church of England which led, amongst other things, to the setting up of what is now the Churches Conservation Trust
- Churches Needs Survey (Claridge for EH and CCC, 1998)
- The needs of listed places of worship across the UK: main report only (Eckstein for HLF and EH, 2001) Eckstein main report and appendices (scanned, large file) Eckstein tables
- A future for church buildings (CofE, 2003)
- Maintain our heritage report (MOH, 2004)
- How do we keep our parish churches? (Cooper, 2004)
- Fabric Needs Survey (2005) (appendices of individual buildings not included as out of date) Summary Main report
- The church’s built heritage Annex1 Annex 2 (CofE, 2006)
- Funding of church buildings: nextsteps (CofE, 2006)
- Guidelines for Hosted Post Offices in Churches & Chapels (CofE, Methodist, URC c.2006)
- Building faith in our future (CofE, 2008)
- Churches and Faith Buildings: realising the potential (Govt and CofE, 2009)
- Blessings or burdens: places of worship their role in communities (EH, 2010)
- Another Capital Idea (Church growth in the diocese of London) (2010) Another Capital Idea summary
- Caring for places of worship – survey and report (EH, 2010)
- Closure of Church of England churches (EH, 2010)
- Burden, Blessing and an Asset for mission (West Midlands, 2015)
- Church of England Buildings Review (CofE, 2015)
- Cumbria Churches Trust – Buildings Survey Report (2015)
- Sustaining major parish churches (2016) summary challenges 50 brief case studies 12 extended case studies part 1 12 extended case studies part 2 report website including films
- Norwich Diocesan Churches Trust (CofE, Norwich diocese, 2016)
- Churches funding gap (Cooper, 2016)
- Taylor_Review (DCMS, 2017) and see below for the evaluation of the pilot
- Handlist of interventions (HRBA, 2018)
- The Value of Maintenance? (2019)
- Enhancing the sustainability of listed places of worship: synthesis of past Scheme Evaluations (2019)
- Taylor Review Pilot report (2020)
- Struggling closed and closing churches (CofE, 2020)
Other reports (date order)
Friends Groups
Use of churches for secular purposes
Bats in churches (date order)
- Bats in churches technical guide (Natural England, 2008)
- Bats research report: improving mitigation success (Bristol University, 2014)
- Bat habitats regulation bill (2017)
Involvement of faith groups in neighbourhood renewal and regeneration
- Faiths Hope and Participation (NEF & CUF, 2001)
- Faith in urban regeneration? (2003)
- Involving faith communities [in regeneration] (Govt, c.2004)
Government and faith group co-operation
- Working together: cooperation between government and faith communities (Home Office, 2004)
- Holy Alliances (2019)
- Keeping the Faith (APPG for Faith and Society, 2021)
- Stepping up and stepping out (Good Faith Foundation, 2021)
Historic England / English Heritage policy and guidance (date order)
Some of these policy and guidance documents are current, some are out of date: the HE website should be consulted if current advice or guidance is being sought.
- Guidance for Methodists and Nonconformist chapels in Cornwall and summary
- Fire safety for traditional church buildings (no date, probably circa 2007)
- Conservation_Principles_Policies_and_Guidance (EH, 2008)
- Caring for places of worship – guidance (2010)
- Research: Churches and closure in the Church of England (2010)
- English Heritage and Defra: Options for the disposal of redundant churches and other places of worship (2010)
- Designation listing selection guide: places of worship (2011)
- Theft of metal from church buildings (2011)
- New work in historic places of worship (2012) Earlier, out of date version of ‘New Work …’_(2003)
- New uses for former places of worship (2012)
- Solar electric panesl (2012)
- Dealing with bat droppings (2012) and Defra sponsored report on improving mitigation success of bats in churches (2014)
- Places of worship strategy (2013-18)
- Pre-application advice for places of worship (2015)
- When to seek advice on installation of telecommunications equipment in listed places of worship (2017)
- Places of worship listing selection guide (2017, current) Places_of_worship_listing selection guide (2011; not current) Places_of_Worship_Selection_Guide (2003; out of date)
- Stained Glass Windows: Managing Environmental Deterioration (2020)
- Church roof replacement using terne-coated steel (2019) or HEAG280 (same 2019, different layout) MOST RECENT 2022 Church Roof Replacement Using Terne-coated Stainless Steel v1.3
- Theft of Metal from Church Roofs Replacement Material (2021)
- Theft of Metal from Church Roofs Prevention and Respons (2021)
Cathedrals
- Economic and social value of cathedrals (2004)
- Spiritual Capital – present and future of English Cathedrals (Theos, 2012)
- Economic and social impact of England’s cathedrals (2014) Infographic Report
- Cathedrals_and_their_communities (DCLG, 2017)
- WW1 Centenary Cathedrals Repair Fund Evaln Exec summary Visual summary (DCMS, 2018)
- Economic and social impact of England’s cathedrals (2019) Infographic Report Case Studies
- Liturgical furnishings in English Cathedrals: storage, movement, retention and disposal (CFCE, 2019): part 1 part 2
Legal resources and Ecclesiastical Exemption
The Ecclesiastical Exemption in England applies to a specified set of denominations only. See the readable guidance at Ecclesiastical exemption in England and Wales: guidance (2010). The order itself is at The Ecclesiastical Exemption (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (England) Order 2010.
There was a consultation in 2005, the results of which are in Ecclesiastical Exemption: the Way Forward [England] (2005).
See here for other legal resources for the Church of England.
Scotland only
In Scotland, a report with recommendations was produced by HEACS in 2009, though the Scottish Government did not respond to the recommendations: Scotland’s ecclesiastical heritage report with recommendations.This report was supported by a Research report and a report on Church-state relationships in selected other European countries. In 2006 the Scottish Civic Trust published New uses for former church buildings. In 2019 there was a consultation on the Church of Scotland’s Well equipped spaces in the right places document.
The Ecclesiastical Exemption in Scotland for ecclesiastical buildings used for ecclesiasatical purposes derives from Section 54 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997. A number of denominations have signed up to a voluntary Scheme to Apply Listed Building Control to Exteriors of Churches in Ecclesiastical Use.
Wales only
In 2012 there was a Church in Wales: Review which will have a long term impact on church buildings. In 2013 the Welsh government produced the Wales faith tourism action plan. In 2014 a Church in Wales policy document on Pilgrim churches was published in the journal of the Ecclesiological Society (by kind permission). In 2015 Cadw published the Strategic Action Plan for Historic Places of Worship in Wales.
A report into the contribution of faith groups to civic society in Wales was published as Faith in Wales: Counting for Communities (Gweini, 2008)
The Ecclesiastical Exemption in Wales relies on a 2018 Order. It applies to specified set of denominations only. Previous history of Ecclesiastical exemption: Previously the Exemption in Wales relied on a 1994 Order which was not easy to find online, and we give here a copy archived by Unesco The Ecclesiastical Exemption (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Order 1994 . The guidance to the operation of the 1994 order is a booklet called The Ecclesiastical Exemption – What is it and How it Works The ecclesiastical exemption arrangements in Wales were reviewed in 2004 and CADW stated that there is a need to make changes to the current Order to mirror changes already introduced in England.