When I was a boy I developed two passions: one was for music and the other was for art and architecture. I was brought up in central London and I was able to develop my interest in architecture through my visits to churches. Many of them were in the inner city and they led to my love of Victorian art. All over the country it was possible to visit important churches. Now, sadly, many of them are closed and some of them are closed all the time.
Sir Nikolaus Pevsner observed, towards the end of his extraordinary work in documenting 'The Buildings of England', that his achievement was rendered virtually useless if the practice of locking churches was to persist. Two decades after he made this observation, the situation is worse.
No one has really discovered a wholly satisfactory way of taking a place of worship out of use and so our towns and countryside are blessed with a huge number of wonderful buildings, mostly still used for their original purpose but increasingly a terrible financial burden on the minute congregations who use them.
This Trust hopes to be able to help the congregations of the finest of these buildings to open them so the public can enjoy not only their beauty and structure but also the often unique history each can extol.
Obviously this is not something to be undertaken in the long-term by any one person, but in a small way I am hoping that my action will encourage others to become involved with the Open Churches Trust. It is vital because the public, at the moment, is denied access to buildings of enormous artistic importance.
I am glad to say that, during the ten years of the life of the Trust, attitudes have changed and a great number more churches are now open. The trust now has many institutions throughout the country continuing and expanding its work and the majority of Anglican Dioceses now have Church Tourism Officers.The churches described herein continue in the long process of giving the public a chance to see and learn about this important part of our national heritage.
During the year the Trustees and all members of the Executive agreed that over the twelve years of the life of the Trust it had gained such widespread support that a number of institutions had sprung up and were now carrying forward the work of the Trust. This development had always been Lord Lloyd Webber's objective. The Trust became a catalyst for others on a local basis to carry out the work of the Trust.
Consequently, as the administrator, Adam Gurdon, has asked at 75 to reduce his workload, it had been decided to run down the Trust and close it in its present form on December 1st
ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER