Alterations and Extensions of Your Church Building
General Considerations: before you start
Alteration of the layout of the church might be considered if new needs and requirements have to be accommodated. For example, this may arise if the parish is reconsidering its pattern of worship and wants to reorder the liturgical furnishings. Other changes affecting the interior or exterior may be necessary to accommodate new facilities or uses. Congregations without a parish hall nearby or parishes aiming to open their church to the community might want to provide a meeting space, a parish office and toilet and coffee-making facilities, either within the existing space or in an extension.
The general presumption should always be against the alteration and destruction of historic fabric. However, alterations and extensions of historic churches are sometimes necessary to develop an active parish and community life, and consequently for the continued use of the building. Medieval churches are evidence of such an organic evolution over the centuries in order to meet the changing needs of the parish. Maintaining the balance between conservation and new facilities may require compromises which will make the alterations worthy of the historic fabric and the church life.
Any alterations to a church's interior or exterior will have a noticeable impact on the building's character and atmosphere, and will be costly. It is therefore advisable to consider carefully whether the need for change is properly justified. Apart from saving time and costs, reconsidering your needs and the required changes might prevent the execution of disappointing alterations. Proper consideration of the real requirements might show that new facilities can easily be accommodated within the church building and that an extension is not necessary.
If you conclude that your requirements make an alteration necessary, you need to consider whether and how the building can accommodate it. Knowing your church's history and significance will help you plan your proposed work with the least impact on important historic fabric and contents.
The secret to any successful alteration scheme is having a skilled and sympathetic architect who understands and respects the church's form and development and who uses high-quality materials and design which are appropriate for the individual building. Choosing the wrong architect or trying to make savings on the materials and design may lead to a visually and functionally unsatisfactory result.
Every church is different and has individual needs. Therefore, it is difficult to establish firm rules for designing alterations or extensions. Every church has to find its own solutions and should not copy those of other churches. However, it may be helpful to visit parishes who have done similar schemes of reordering, alterations or extensions. Your DAC Secretary might be able to provide you with contact information.
You and your architect need to study the church building, its form and history carefully in order to find the best site for your required facilities. This includes research on the archaeology and ecology of the churchyard which will be affected by any external building work.
Extensions are generally disruptive and expensive and should only be chosen if they are the only possible way to meet the parish's needs. Consider the advantages and disadvantages of the alternatives: accommodating facilities inside the church, using an existing building nearby or building a detached building in the churchyard.
There will be a few churches whose interior and form is so special that it will simply not be possible to alter them (or to gain faculty for doing so) because of the adverse impact on the building. In such cases, it will be especially important to look at the whole range of possible options.
Internal alterations can include liturgical reordering to reflect the requirements of worship, changes to the seating arrangements, and the provision of smaller meeting room, coffee-making and toilet facilities. A small kitchen can often be accommodated in a small and dignified cupboard set against an aisle wall. In order to keep the effects of adaptation limited to one area, you should try and accommodate several new facilities within the same space.
New work should always be sited as discreetly as possible. While extensions and alterations to historic churches should always be subservient to the original fabric and details, this does not mean that the new should copy the old. Form, detail, scale and materials should be sympathetic and yet confident and recognisably modern. As fashions in church architecture and patterns of worship change, ideally the alterations should be removable without damage to the historic fabric.
Extensions may take organic forms which harmonise with the original building, such as aisle, chapel, transept or porch. A octagonal ‘chapter house' is often alien to the character of a parish church. Extensions which are linked to the church by a narrow and often glazed corridor frequently appear as too weak and can created a sunless and weed-filled gap.
The option of subdividing a church needs to be carefully handled in order to preserve the original spatial qualities of the interior. Screens should only be placed in positions which make sense architecturally, and will need careful detailing particularly where they meet the fabric. Remember that the reflections and the frame of glazed screens may be visually intrusive (and difficult to clean), while solid partitions can create too great a sense of division. Any screens should only be situated on the existing lines of arcades or other openings. Vestries, the base of a west tower, subdivided side aisles or transept could all be successfully used for creating extra spaces.
How to Make Alterations to Your Church Building sets out the simple steps involved in the process.
November 2007
Further Information
Church Extensions and Adaptations (Church House Publishing, 2nd edition, 2002).
SPAB, Statement 1: Church Extensions (2007) (available on the SPAB website)
English Heritage, New Work in Historic Places of Worship (2003) (available on the English Heritage website)
