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The Churches Conservation Trust, which was initially known as the Redundant Churches Fund, is a UK charity whose purpose is to protect historic churches at risk in England.
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The trust was established by the Pastoral Measure of 1969. The legally defined object of the trust is "the preservation, in the interests of the nation and the Church of England, of churches and parts of churches of historic and archaeological interest or architectural quality vested in the Fund ... together with their contents so vested". The charity cares for 347 English churches.
The trust is financed partly by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Church Commissioners, but grants from those bodies were frozen in 2001, since when additional funding has come from other sources, including the general public. In the 12 months ending 31 March 2010 the charity's income was £6,161,653, and its spending was £6,035,871. During that year it had 44 employees, and received the support of up to 2,000 volunteers. The charity is run by a board of trustees, who delegate the day-to-day management to a chief executive and his senior management team.
The trust's primary aim is to ensure that the buildings in its care are weatherproof and to prevent any deterioration in their condition. The majority of the churches remain consecrated, and many are occasionally still used for worship. Local communities are encouraged to use them for appropriate activities and events, and the buildings provide an educational resource, allowing children and young people to study history and architecture. Nearly 2 million people visit the trust's churches each year.
The Head Office of The Churches Conservation Trust is located at Society Building, 8 All Saints Street, London, N1 9RL.
East of England
This list contains the churches in the counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, and Suffolk.
English Midlands
This list contains the churches in the counties of Derbyshire, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Rutland, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire.
Northern England
This list contains the churches in the counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear and Yorkshire.
South East England
This list contains the churches in the counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Greater London, Hampshire, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey and West Sussex.
South West England
This list contains the churches in the counties of Bristol, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire.