Dozens of historic churches to close
Pastor Dale Morgan
Dozens of historic churches to close*
Jonathan Wynne-Jones and Vikki Miller
Last Updated: 8:06PM BST 24/05/2008
Dozens of UK churches have been selected for imminent closure under
radical plans to merge parishes and save money, The Telegraph has learnt.
The plans have been drawn up by both Church of England and Roman
Catholic dioceses and will see some of their most historic buildings
made redundant. In one area, buildings with fewer than 100 worshippers
are under threat while more than a third of Anglican churches could be
lost in one city.
The disclosure comes as more church leaders, celebrities and heritage
groups give their support to this newspaper's Save Our Churches
campaign. Earlier this month, The Telegraph disclosed that one in five
of Britain's churches face closure by 2030.
Among those threatened by the latest plans are St Peter's in Brighton, a
Gothic-styled Victorian building, and St Walburge's
in Preston, which has the tallest spire of any parish church in England.
Of the 50 Anglican churches in the Brighton area, a review has
recommended six closures, with a further 11 at risk, unless there is a
marked increase in attendance levels or an improvement in finances.
Jonathan Pritchard, Chichester's diocesan secretary, said: "People have
recognised that the future of their church as it is is no longer tenable."
Dr Ian Dungavell, the director of the Victorian Society, said: "The best
way to look after such national treasures is to keep them in the use for
which they were designed or, where that is not possible, to find a new
use which will keep what is special about the building intact."
New figures from the Church of England show that 115 buildings were made
redundant between 2003 and 2007, while Catholics, Baptists and
Methodists are finding it even more difficult to keep their premises open.
In the diocese of Truro, the churches of St Paul's, which is in the
city, and St Peter's, in the village of Mithian, have been designated
for closure and parishes are also facing an uncertain future in the
diocese of Wakefield.
Catholic churches in north-west England are under particular pressure,
with a severe shortage of priests and a sharp fall in attendances at
Mass. In the diocese of Liverpool, the number of priests has almost
halved in the past decade, from 240 in 1998 to 166.
The Rt Rev Patrick O'Donoghue, Bishop of Lancaster, has warned of
"uncomfortable" times ahead for his diocese as it plans to adjust the
way it invests its money.
It is forecast to lose half of its 108 parishes in the next 10 years,
which are likely to see the closure of dozens of churches, with the
Grade I listed building of St Walburge's in Preston being one of those
at risk unless £5 million can be found.
A review of the situation in places such as Preston and Blackpool will
conclude that churches with congregations of fewer than 100 people are
unsustainable.
Additional reporting by Beth Jones