Maintenance is a MUST...

...not a “maybe later…”

Diocesan Surveyor Nicola Davies explains why, and where help is at hand.

Our historic places of worship are often the oldest and most prominent buildings within our communities and often give character and a sense of place. For many, they are often the only historic building that people feel they have a connection with, in some way, so that even those who have no faith feel passionate about it.

As Christians we understand our role as custodians. Like our ancestors before us, we are now responsible for caring for these buildings in order to pass on the baton and they rely on the goodwill and support of the people around them.

We have had little in the way of sunshine this summer, autumn and winter creep ever closer, so now is the best time to get on and do that routine maintenance that we would all rather avoid.

Our buildings vary in size and scale, congregation members vary in age and expertise and we don’t want anyone taking a risk climbing a ladder to clean gutters without some level of proficiency, but somebody has to do it and we all need to be proactive in this.

Some tasks are relatively simple, some dirty and others require help that we can only get by paying for it. We appreciate that money is short in many places, but often when we reach out to our communities with a request for help for the upkeep of our historic buildings, asking for two hours of someone’s time, competent on a ladder, or to raise money specifically for this task, locals will invariably step in to help, we just need to ask.

Water is our biggest enemy. Most of our buildings are constructed with traditional materials that can trap moisture and exacerbate the issues present - blocked gutters etc.- so swift removal of all water is the number one task.

We are in the process of preparing a pack of information specifically for the routine maintenance of our buildings, which will be available soon; information on how you can obtain this will be sent out to each church, in due course.

Janet Every, Care of Churches Officer, and I along with others will be offering a Church Building Advice Clinic in each archdeaconry over the coming months to provide advice on maintenance as well as faculty support and advice, the dates will be confirmed in September. If you would like any further information please e-mail me on nicoladavies@cinw.org.uk