Media centre: National Churches Trust Press Office

We are the UK's leading experts on church buildings. We are available for comments, case studies, interviews and information.

Claire Walker, our Chief Executive has more than ten years experience of high profile leadership in the church heritage sector. Our Church Support Team have extensive knowledge of the key issues facing church buildings.

We can find the latest data on trends in the sector; ranging from the numbers of church buildings in the UK to the value that churches make to society and the economy.

We'd be happy to help: whether you are from the media, a church or a heritage organisation. Please get in touch with our Head of Communications, Rachael Adams, at Rachael.Adams@nationalchurchestrust.org or call 07742 800598.

UK church buildings fact sheet

•    There are around 20,000 listed cathedrals, churches and chapels in use across the United Kingdom, belonging to a wide range of denominations, together with a number of important listed synagogues, mosques and temples.
•    120,000 people visited a warm space every week in 2023. Most warm spaces are held in church buildings.
•    Church buildings are the biggest base for voluntary activity in the UK; there are more food banks in church buildings in Britain than branches of McDonald’s.
•    Churches provide £55 billion a year of social and economic good (The House of Good, 2021). This figure is a conservative estimate made by independent economic analysts using the Treasury’s Green Book.
•    Churches, chapels and meeting houses in the UK host and run vital support – eg AA meetings, mental health support, parent and toddlers' groups – that would cost the NHS £8.4 billion a year to deliver. The same as employing 230,000 nurses (The House of Good: Health 2024)
•    The contribution churches and cathedrals make to our creative industries and to tourism is significant; 9.35 million people visited English cathedrals in 2023, a 17 per cent increase from 2022, with many of the visitors coming from overseas. 
•    Churches are by far the largest base for amateur music-making by choirs and orchestras, as well as housing thousands of professional performances ranging from pop to classical music each year. They also foster talent; musicians including singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran and leading violinist Tasmin Little began their musical careers by taking part in church music. 
•    There are 969 places of worship on Historic England’s 2024 Heritage at Risk Register; 959 are churches, chapels, meeting houses and cathedrals. In 2024, 55 churches were added to the list.
•    More than 60 per cent of all the MPs in England – 336 MPs – have a church, chapel, meeting house or cathedral on the Historic England Heritage at Risk Register in their constituency. 

Listed Places of Worship Grants Scheme (LPWGS) fact sheet

•    LPWGS is the only regular financial support that the Government provides to help those looking after these buildings. And of course, its effect is simply just to refund the VAT that they have paid to the Exchequer. 
•    The scheme was introduced in its current form by the Labour Government in 2004 by the Rt Hon Gordon Brown when as Chancellor of the Exchequer he recognised the harm that could be caused to these buildings by other changes to VAT.  Since then, it has been renewed by every government in power - but now a new decision needs to be made because the current commitment ends in March 2025. 
•    Since it was first introduced, more than 13,000 places of worship have been supported in keeping their buildings windproof and watertight, safeguarding the future of some of our most important local heritage.  
 

We are happy to provide more information on this or provide spokespeople to talk about this important issue. We also have case studies available.