24 C O N T E X T 1 4 1 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 5 ‘Through a glass, darkly’: discerning cultural significance in the parish church Speaker: Peter Aiers, regional director, Churches Conservation Trust aim you had to very carefully consider each individual building, undertake a comprehensive assessment of significance, and involve the local residents and users early in the process. All Souls in Bolton illustrated his point: a 19th-century church which had fallen into decline in the 1980s, located in a very poor ward, had been transformed into a vibrant new community centre through innovative design. Aiers ended by asking: ‘How do you get people to care?’ He promoted the trust’s latest venture ‘Champing’. This was, he explained to a rather confused audience, ‘an entirely new concept of camping in a disused church’. The trust hopes that by making churches accessible and offering a unique experience, a new generation of users can continue to engage with these important buildings in a way that creates new histories, stories and enthusiasm for their preservation. Lorraine Brown Recognising community connections in conserving the historic environment Speaker: Dave Chetwyn, Urban Vision Although the Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill is yet to be passed, the Localism Act 2011 gave communities powers not just to be involved in planning that affects heritage, but to take action in challenging local authorities. This includes rights to take ownership of assets and to create registers of assets of community value, and the community right to bid. Chetwyn said that since coverage of heritage was optional in neighbourhood plans (unlike in local plans), the heritage sector needed to widen its skills agenda to ensure that it could effectively and positively communicate with communities about the centrality of heritage. Local priorities included economic growth, sustainability, housing provision and the quality of facilities. It was important to help communities understand that heritage had an important role to play in all of these. It could do this by learning how to engage and Peter Aiers has been working for the Churches ConservationTrust since 2007. He is passionate about ensuring that parish churches remain part of the fabric of the country. He is part of a team working to find sustainable ways in which these buildings can continue to be enjoyed by communities, visitors and users. He asked: ‘What is it that made the parish church such a powerful piece of cultural significance?’ We often had to look deeper, through the mirror as it were, and accept that we did not know everything at first glance. He described what he believed the visitor experience to be in most instances when visiting parish churches. ‘Look through the door and see the font and stained glass, then take a quick look at the graves and you’ve seen it.’ When you delved deeper, you began to realise that these buildings were some of the most democratic buildings in our landscape, often being ‘built for the people, by the people’. They often reflected the development of society through time, containing memorials, cemeteries and records. He reminded us that the parish church existed in our landscape, often as a memory. It was often the only physical remains of deserted medieval villages and settlements. Part of the challenge facing the Churches Conservation Trust was to enhance the visitor experience. All of the churches had ‘a story and a profound relationship with place’. Aiers believed vehemently that these buildings should remain public spaces. The trust was working to improve the visitor experience, encouraging people to stay and linger in these buildings, for example through the use of subtle interpretation. Aiers was passionate about the use of churches as community resources, encouraging adaptive reuse of buildings to ensure their long-term sustainability and to allow them to continue to contribute to their communities. He believed that in order to achieve this Peter Aiers: churches are some of the most democratic buildings in our landscape. Dave Chetwyn: there has been something of a culture change in local authorities.
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