Historic church buildings across England are facing mounting maintenance pressures as clergy numbers decline, parishes are grouped into larger benefices and responsibility increasingly falls to volunteers, churchwardens and Parochial Church Councils. These buildings remain important places of worship, heritage and community life, but those responsible for them often lack the continuous, accessible evidence needed to prioritise repairs, prepare funding applications and respond

When Reverend Jane Lee lifted a wedding kneeler at St Wilfrid's Church in Melling this Easter, she wasn't expecting to find the church's future. Tucked beneath the altar was a plastic bag containing nine gold Britannia coins and a note, dated 2022 and signed simply "James, servant of the Living God." Sold, they raised almost £30,000 — a lifeline for a 700-year-old, Grade I-listed church whose five-strong congregation had been quietly preparing for its final Good Friday servic