The culture and consequences of Anglican church redundancy, 1945-1995: Leicestershire and Lincolnshire

This thesis explores what makes a church redundant and designated for closure in the modern era between 1945 and 1995 in the Church of England. Its central research focus is the culture embedded in the church redundancy process and the consequences of church closure for many communities. Following detailed exploration of the weighty ecclesiastical and parliamentary policy established to protect church buildings and create a formal church redundancy process, the inner workings, culture and the consequences of the Church of England’s attempts to cope with rapid social change in this period are analysed. The degree to which the secularisation debate became entrenched and how it shaped decision making are examined, and other socio-cultural issues are appraised for their effect on church redundancy. Refined case-study analyses of churches in the dioceses of Leicester and Lincoln draw on national data, and the heritage sector’s influence is explored. Finally, the social realities of the church communities in parishes where churches became redundant are considered afresh by examining objections to redundancy.

This thesis uncovers more complex factors that affected churches’ viability than previously offered by historians and sociologists. The Church of England’s slow, bureaucratic working culture impeded some parish churches’ sustainability. While attempting to respond to rapid social change the Church and local planning authorities failed to foresee the consequences of policy decisions for local communities. Hence, each redundancy occurred for differing and sometimes overlapping reasons. Redundancy was not inevitable future for churches with low attendance and usually resulted from a series of circumstances over time. Few cases were connected directly with secularisation, often reflecting a combination of a changing population, financial challenges, maintenance issues and a shortage of clergy. These problems were exacerbated by tensions and conflict between heritage bodies seeking to protect historic buildings, the Church trying to maintain its spiritual mission and the parish community endeavouring to worship in its church.