How Was A Historic Church Saved Following A Major Fire?

As the figurative and often literal centres of communities, churches often have huge histories that run in parallel with the towns and villages they are a part of. This typically means that renovation is the best and often only option to help fix serious damage.

Thankfully, there are some truly wonderful examples of churches of all shapes and sizes being saved thanks to the power of church leaders, the congregation and the wider local community, the most recent of which being the revitalisation of a church in Hertfordshire following a devastating fire.

The Parish Church of St John the Baptist, based in Royston, suffered from a serious fire that caused major damage to the roof and the bell tower, as well as some damage to the pews and organ.

Whilst arson was ruled out, a cause was never found, and attempts to repair and restore the church were hampered by a storm in 2022 that caused further damage to the parapet.

Thankfully, the church has since been restored, reopened and removed from the Historic England At-Risk Register, an annual list of listed buildings and structures deemed to be at risk of serious damage or degradation.

With that, it provides some useful lessons for how other church buildings suffering from damage or decay could potentially be restored and renovated.

The most important of these is to work closely with stakeholders to make sure that the restoration takes the priorities of everyone who uses the church into account.

This includes not only the Diocesan Advisory Committee and heritage groups at both local and national levels, but also the congregation, local community groups and anyone who uses or is likely to sue the building.

As well as this, it is important to balance the use of the building with its historic character, rebuilding the church as the best version of itself.

St John the Baptist added a much better community space, which allows not only for worship and family groups, but also wider community activities and events to take place within the church.