Custodians of Cultural Treasures

There are over 20,000 listed places of worship in the UK, the vast majority of which are churches. Just over a fifth are Grade I listed, or equivalent, a third are Grade II* listed, and 40% are Grade II listed, according to data from the Historic Religious Buildings Alliance.

The 2025 National Churches Survey also asked churches about their artefacts, from fonts and memorials to local and national social heritage stories. What was revealed shows churches as living ‘memory banks’, places where generations have marked life’s key moments. Fonts are used to baptise children from local families; bells ring out for weddings; war memorials and plaques remember those lost in conflict. These treasures aren’t static relics, they are enlivened by worship, restored by volunteers, cherished by families, and discovered by visitors, connecting the spiritual and cultural threads of society.

The Survey shows that stained glass stands out, appearing in 49% of churches as a work of artistic merit, and in 28% as a piece of national or local significance. These windows are visual wonders, telling biblical stories, commemorating local families, clergy, and benefactors, and reflecting creation. Fonts are the site of countless generations of baptisms and were highlighted by 27% of churches for their artistic quality, and by 22% for their local or national significance.

One in five churches (20%) reported having memorials of artistic merit, while more than a third (35%) identified them as historically significant. These monuments often bear the names of local men and women lost in wars while others commemorate community figures, benefactors, or generations of families, telling quieter but equally important stories of local continuity, reminding us that churches safeguard not only the memory of conflict, but also the lived experience of everyday community life.

Other features highlight craft creativity – carvings (15% artistic; 13% of significance) and statues (13% artistic; 12% of significance), which range from medieval woodwork to Victorian sculpture. 12% of churches describe their “memory banks” of oral histories, photographs, and community records as artistically meaningful, and 22% see them as historically significant. 

These cultural treasures are not static exhibits but continue to be part of peoples’ lived experiences – sung beneath, prayed before, passed by each week. Their loss would be a cultural catastrophe, but their preservation is a gift to future generations.