From Gutter to Spire: a co-operative approach to looking after religious buildings

Churches Conservation Trust volunteers are invited to the conference at the Merchant Taylors Hall in York, which includes a visit to the CCT's Holy Trinity Goodramgate, and is open to all volunteers who look after places of worship. It will feature expert speakers, maintenance surgeries and walking tours of the historic City of York. It provides an opportunity to have your maintenance questions answered and meet people from across the country who care for local places of worship.

The visit to Holy Trinity Goodramgate is part of an optional walking tour, allowing conference attendees the chance to see this ‘hidden treasure’ tucked away behind one of York’s busiest shopping streets. The visit will be led by architect Linda Lockett, stonemason Nigel Copsey, and our own Graham White, providing an overview of the problems the church has faced and how they have been dealt with, from fabric maintenance through to updating the use of the building and improving interpretation.

The tour will offer a look at recent and planned work such as pew repairs, using very conservative repair methods, improvements in drainage designed to reduce damp and mildew, the vestry extension and work to enhance the experience for visitors.

You can book tickets, and find a detailed programme, a travel bursary application form and information on how to book maintenance surgeries on the SPAB Maintenance Co-operatives Project website at www.spabmcp.org.uk.

There are a small number of travel bursaries (up to £100) available for volunteers who already care for a place of worship. For further information, contact Sheila Christie on [email protected].