Who Maintains The Church?

Revealing Misunderstandings About Stewardship of Our Ancient Churches

A new poll reveals public misunderstandings over who maintains England’s ancient churches, highlighting a gap between their valued heritage role and who is responsible for their care.

This insight offers an opportunity for future engagement to make sure these buildings continue to be looked after in the future.

Published 24 February 2026 by Andy Brown, Analytics Director at Historic England.

Ancient parish churches sit at the heart of England’s towns and villages, physically and symbolically. Yet new polling commissioned by Historic England suggests that while the public values these buildings highly, there is a widespread misunderstanding about who is actually responsible for their care. This a gap in awareness which could be holding back wider engagement.

The nationally representative survey (by Savanta, September 2025) explored how people relate to churches that are over 500 years old. Its most stark finding shows that only 11 per cent of respondents understood that responsibility for maintaining historic parish churches lies primarily with local communities (typically a committee of clergy, churchwardens and elected volunteers).  Most people – nearly four in five – assumed that the task fell to national church authorities, local councils or national heritage bodies.

This misunderstanding was seen across age, region and socio-economic groups, but was most pronounced in the East Midlands and South West, and among those in lower socio-economic groups. Older respondents were particularly likely to believe that church authorities carried the burden. In contrast, younger people tended to assume it was a local council responsibility.  

Interestingly, very few people admitted uncertainty: most felt confident, but were wrong.

Valued more as a heritage or community asset?

The survey also reveals a nuanced picture of how different groups value ancient churches. Overall, responses were finely balanced between seeing churches as historic landmarks and valuing them for their contemporary use as venues for events and community activities. However, when we look at these figures across generations and regions, the picture changes noticeably.

When looking across age ranges, older people are more inclined to prize churches for their historic and landmark value, while younger adults are more likely to value their practical use and relevance to their daily lives. Regionally, Londoners place strong emphasis on the churches’ current usage, whereas respondents in the South West and East of England are more likely to see churches primarily as defining features of the local area.

Socio-economic differences also emerge. Higher-income groups are more inclined towards value churches’ contemporary use, while those in lower-income groups place relatively greater weight on their historical significance.

The value of access

One of the most striking findings concerns access. Three quarters of respondents said that having access themselves to ancient churches was important, a figure that held steady across gender and region, though it dipped a little among the youngest adults. 

Even more telling, four in five people said it was important that other people should have access to these buildings – even if they themselves did not use them. This “option value”, long-discussed in heritage economics, was strongest among older age groups, with nine in ten people aged 55–64 rating access for others as very or quite important. Regionally, this sentiment was most keenly felt in the North East.

The implication is clear: while personal use matters, there is a deep-seated public attachment to the idea of churches remaining open and accessible to all. Therefore, any move towards complete privatisation or closure would sit uneasily with most people.

Future care: Getting more people involved

The conservation challenge facing ancient churches is enormous, making the survey’s findings on volunteering especially pertinent. It seems the most powerful motivator was a simple one – knowing that volunteering would genuinely make a difference.

When we look further into the data, motivations vary. Men were more encouraged by understanding that upkeep is a local responsibility and by the prospect of expenses being reimbursed. Younger people responded to reassurance that their time constraints would be respected and were also more open to persuasion once local responsibility was made clear. In the North East and West Midlands the opportunity to gain new skills emerged as a notable draw, particularly in the North East and West Midlands.

By contrast, the list of motivations tested in the survey were of less relevance to older respondents and those in lower socio-economic groups, suggesting barriers to participation that go beyond messaging alone.

A communications challenge – and opportunity

Taken together, this data shows a clear conclusion. Public support for ancient churches is strong, but poorly aligned with the realities of how they are sustained and maintained. Addressing this widespread misconception could unlock greater local engagement, particularly among those already sympathetic to heritage and community causes.

Targeted messages that are sensitive to regional, generational and socio-economic differences will be essential here. So too will recognition of the public’s strong attachment to access, not just for themselves, but for others. In that respect, England’s ancient churches are not simply inherited buildings; they remain, in the public mind, shared places with a future as well as a past