09/05/2016
More than half of the Church of England's 42 dioceses have signed up to the Church Heritage Record. In advance of the launch to be attended by specialists in the fields of church conservation, archaeology, ecology, data mapping, and planning, Sir Laurie Magnus, Chairman of Historic England said, "The new Church Heritage Record will help to modernise navigation of the faculty system. Our churches have long been the centres of community life and simplifying the system of making minor changes to them will mean that they can be more efficiently looked after, now and in the future."
The Rt Revd Dr John Inge, Bishop of Worcester and lead bishop on cathedrals and church buildings said: "The Church Heritage Record is a wonderful new online facility which will, over time, have an enormous impact. It is the first time that such comprehensive information on our churches has been available online and it is expanding all the time. It has been produced in collaboration with Historic England with whom we greatly value our partnership."
Following a consultation with parishes and dioceses the system for gaining permission to do works from minor alterations, routine maintenance to major improvements was simplified to make for a speedier and less burdensome process. Permissions for minor works and maintenance can now be made using the website - https://facultyonline.churchofengland.org
Rupert Allan, Diocesan Advisory Secretary for the Diocese of Leicester said: 'Parishes are able to make applications for minor works authorisation online with the ability to track their progress. They can create and maintain an electronic log book of all repairs and works carried out - whether they need permission or not - this allows parishes and diocesan staff to work better together by improving communication and access to information.'
The Church Heritage Record contains over 16,000 entries on church buildings in England and Wales, covering a wide variety of topics from architectural history and archaeology, to the surrounding natural environment. The information has been developed and added to through desk-based research and fieldwork reports, as well as through local initiatives and thematic projects.
Janet Gough, director of the Cathedrals and Church Buildings Division said: 'The Church of England's 16,000 cathedrals and church buildings constitute 45% of England's Grade I Listed buildings and are repositories of extraordinary works of art and treasures as well as telling local histories. The Church Heritage Record is the basis for our new church visiting website, churchdays.co.uk, and we are looking to dioceses and other local groups to populate it with as much useful information about each church as possible.'
A team of volunteers across the country are continuously updating and developing the Church Heritage Record. Robert Piggott, a PhD student at the University of Huddersfield who spent three months working on the CHR as part of his student placement said: 'The Church Heritage Record has the potential to be an unparalleled resource for researchers investigating the religious heritage of England and Wales. Simply by providing the geographical location, approximate dates of construction of church buildings and a search facility, the record provides a powerful tool for researchers. Once further developed, it will be a vital tool to examine trends in social, art historical and liturgical history, as well as to research the history and heritage of a village or town.'