New video shows how best to
care for Britaiifs churches
By Mira Bar-Hillel
Looking after your church is a
new video which otiers clear and
practiml guidelines to the reg-
ular care and maintenance of
crumbling church property. This
is an increasingly serious prob
lem, says English Heritage, and
one that needs to be addressed.
The video is a joint project by
The Council for the Care of
Churches and sponsors, the
Ecclesiastical Insurance Group.
which insures more than 95 per
cent ofAnglican churches as well
as many other places of worship.
Nationwide distribution is
planned for the 25 rrtinute video
which was tilmed by Milestones
Communications at churches in
Gloucestershire.
The Church of England alone
has in its care more than 17000
church buildings of great diver-
sity, with more than half dating
from the Middle Ages or earlier.
in addition. many of the
churches contain outstanding
works of art: stained glass, sculp-
ture. paintings. woodcarving.
textiles and other items dating
from Saxon times to the present
day.
Scores of these buildings are
suffering the ravages of time.
from leaky roofs and dry rot to
serious decorative decay .-\r".on.
vandalism and theil liavu also
taken their toll.
The video looks closely at three
different churches - one medie-
val, one Victorian and one
modern - and t'oLlows an archi-
tect's thorough fiveyearly in-
spection of one
typical church. St Mary's. It joins
the architect on his inspection.
hearing his comments on various
features and the problems lflSld8'
and outside the building.
The key points are:
CKeEp an eye on problems of
weathering and wear and tear.
OGood housekeeping“. ildlness
around the church has Lmmense
impact on safety. reducing lire
risks and helping security
against crime or vandalism.
G Work carried out rcrgularly by
a good local builder can stop
small jobs becohtjhg mayor re
pair projects. f ;
OConsult your .ll1ill.fi-l-I1CE com-
pany over special! or unusual
features and potential problem
areas.
The film also l'LiBh.|-lghts more

Architect Martin Caroe (right) discusses maintenance at St Mar)":
dramatic cases of neglect at
another church visited by the
architect. "
Ecclesiastical insurance
Group was the company which
settled the £3 million restoration
bill following the disastrous fire
at York Minister in 1984. The
group was founded in 1887 to
provide fire cover for church
property and conserve profits for
church purposes.
EIG insures more than nine
out of every 10 churches in the
UK. as well as many other places
of worship. It also provides
charitable grants of up to £2 mil-
lion yearly to dioceses through
allocation of surplus profits.
In 1988 EIG launched a video
and information pack called
Arson alert which highlighted
the increasing risks of criminal
damage to church properties and
was much praised by police
crime prevention ofiicers
throughout the UK.
Available from;
Council for the Care of Churches
83 London Wall, London ECZM SNA
price; £9.85 (inc. P & P l