Friends of Friendless Churches is a registered charity formed in 1957, active in England and Wales, which campaigns for and rescues redundant historic places of worship threatened by demolition, decay, or inappropriate conversion. As of April 2021, the charity owns 58 redundant churches or chapels, 29 of which are in England, and 29 in Wales. The charity was formed by Ivor Bulmer-Thomas, a writer, former MP and a high church Anglican. He was the charity's Honorary Director until his death in 1993. The first executive committee included prominent politicians, artists, poets and architects, including John Betjeman, John Piper, Roy Jenkins, T. S. Eliot and Harry Goodhart-Rendel. Initially the charity campaigned and obtained grants for the repair and restoration of churches within its remit. The 1968 Pastoral Measure established the Redundant Churches Fund (now called Churches Conservation Trust). However, the Church Commissioners turned down a number of buildings that the executive committee considered worthy of preservation, including Old St Matthew's Church, Lightcliffe, and St Peter's Church, Wickham Bishops. The charity therefore decided in 1972 to change its constitution, allowing it to acquire threatened buildings either by freehold or by lease. The tower of the church at Lightcliffe was the first property to be vested with the charity. More information...
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