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Friends of Friendless Churches
Friends of Friendless Churches (FoFC), also referred to as 'The Friends', is a registered charity formed in 1957, active in England and Wales, which campaigns for and rescues redundant historic places of worship threatened by demolition, decay, or inappropriate conversion. As of April 2026, the charity cares for over 70 redundant churches, chapels, and meeting houses in England and Wales.
The charity was formed in 1957 by Ivor Bulmer-Thomas, a writer, former MP and a high church Anglican. He was the charity's honorary director until his death in 1993. The first executive committee included prominent politicians, artists, poets and architects, among them John Betjeman, John Piper, Roy Jenkins, T. S. Eliot, Harry Goodhart-Rendel and Rosalie Lady Mander. Initially the charity campaigned and obtained grants for the repair and restoration of churches within its remit.[clarification needed] The 1968 Pastoral Measure established the Redundant Churches Fund (now called Churches Conservation Trust). However, the Church Commissioners turned down a number of buildings that the executive committee considered worthy of preservation, including Old St Matthew's Church, Lightcliffe, and St Peter's Church, Wickham Bishops. The charity therefore decided in 1972 to change its constitution, allowing it to acquire threatened buildings either by freehold or by lease. The tower of the church at Lightcliffe was the first property to be vested with the charity.
Bulmer-Thomas' first restoration project was St James's Church in Llangua, Monmouthshire. He led the project in 1954–55, with the repairs carried out by E A Roiser. Bulmer-Thomas restored the church as a memorial for his late wife, Dilys Thomas, with a plaque dedicated to her placed at the church's entrance. After the restoration was complete he founded the FoFC in 1957 to "secure the preservation of churches and chapels, or of any part thereof, in the United Kingdom, whether belonging to or formerly used by the Church of England or by any other religious body … for public access and the benefit of the nation", marking St James's as a pivotal building in the history of church conservation and repair in England and Wales. Continuing his legacy, the FoFC completed a substantial restoration of St James's Church in 2024–25, which included extensive repair of the wagon roofs, lime plastering, rendering and limewashing. The church re-opened to the visitors in June 2025 and is open daily.
In 2025, the FoFC acquired four historically significant sites from the Historic Chapels Trust, ensuring their long-term conservation and public access. The acquisitions were Farfield Friends Meeting House (West Yorkshire), Coanwood Friends Meeting House (Northumberland), Cote Baptist Chapel (Oxfordshire), and Biddlestone Roman Catholic Chapel (Northumberland). This follows a strategic move by the Historic Chapels Trust to find sustainable new custodians for its portfolio of buildings ahead of the charity closing its operations. The chapels form part of the biggest single-year acquisition programme in the FoFC's 68-year history.
The charity raises money from various sources. Since 1999, it has worked in partnership with Cadw and the Church in Wales to take redundant churches in Wales into its care. In Wales, the charity receives funding for taking Anglican churches into its care. Of this, 70% comes from the Welsh Government through Cadw, and 30% from the Church in Wales.
In England, the charity does not receive regular public funding, but has obtained grants from bodies such as English Heritage. In 2024–25, conservation projects at St James's Church, Llangua in Monmouthshire and St Lawrence's Church, Gumfreston in Pembrokeshire were supported by the National Heritage Memorial Fund and the Garfield Weston Foundation. Other income comes from donations, membership fees and legacies from members of the public. Some churches have been supported by the formation of local groups of Friends. The charity administers two trusts, one of which, the Cottam Will Trust, was established by Rev S. E. Cottam for "the advancement of religion of objects of beauty to be placed in ancient Gothic churches either in England or Wales".
All the churches owned by the charity are listed buildings, and most are former Anglican churches, either from the Church of England or the Church in Wales, although there are also private chapels, Nonconformist sites and a Roman Catholic church.
On the charity's 50th anniversary in 2007 it published a book titled Saving Churches, containing details of their history and accounts of their churches. The charity describes itself as an architectural conservation organisation which aims to preserve beautiful places of worship as public monuments. The charity told The Guardian newspaper in 2019 that cared-for and cherished should not mean fossilised, and instead they want to offer their places of worship for public events such as concerts, knitting groups, seasonal lectures, art exhibitions, supper clubs and the occasional religious ceremony. "They intend to carry on working tirelessly to preserve what Shakespeare described as our magnificent 'sermons in stone' for generations to come", The Guardian stated.
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Friends of Friendless Churches
Friends of Friendless Churches (FoFC), also referred to as 'The Friends', is a registered charity formed in 1957, active in England and Wales, which campaigns for and rescues redundant historic places of worship threatened by demolition, decay, or inappropriate conversion. As of April 2026, the charity cares for over 70 redundant churches, chapels, and meeting houses in England and Wales.
The charity was formed in 1957 by Ivor Bulmer-Thomas, a writer, former MP and a high church Anglican. He was the charity's honorary director until his death in 1993. The first executive committee included prominent politicians, artists, poets and architects, among them John Betjeman, John Piper, Roy Jenkins, T. S. Eliot, Harry Goodhart-Rendel and Rosalie Lady Mander. Initially the charity campaigned and obtained grants for the repair and restoration of churches within its remit.[clarification needed] The 1968 Pastoral Measure established the Redundant Churches Fund (now called Churches Conservation Trust). However, the Church Commissioners turned down a number of buildings that the executive committee considered worthy of preservation, including Old St Matthew's Church, Lightcliffe, and St Peter's Church, Wickham Bishops. The charity therefore decided in 1972 to change its constitution, allowing it to acquire threatened buildings either by freehold or by lease. The tower of the church at Lightcliffe was the first property to be vested with the charity.
Bulmer-Thomas' first restoration project was St James's Church in Llangua, Monmouthshire. He led the project in 1954–55, with the repairs carried out by E A Roiser. Bulmer-Thomas restored the church as a memorial for his late wife, Dilys Thomas, with a plaque dedicated to her placed at the church's entrance. After the restoration was complete he founded the FoFC in 1957 to "secure the preservation of churches and chapels, or of any part thereof, in the United Kingdom, whether belonging to or formerly used by the Church of England or by any other religious body … for public access and the benefit of the nation", marking St James's as a pivotal building in the history of church conservation and repair in England and Wales. Continuing his legacy, the FoFC completed a substantial restoration of St James's Church in 2024–25, which included extensive repair of the wagon roofs, lime plastering, rendering and limewashing. The church re-opened to the visitors in June 2025 and is open daily.
In 2025, the FoFC acquired four historically significant sites from the Historic Chapels Trust, ensuring their long-term conservation and public access. The acquisitions were Farfield Friends Meeting House (West Yorkshire), Coanwood Friends Meeting House (Northumberland), Cote Baptist Chapel (Oxfordshire), and Biddlestone Roman Catholic Chapel (Northumberland). This follows a strategic move by the Historic Chapels Trust to find sustainable new custodians for its portfolio of buildings ahead of the charity closing its operations. The chapels form part of the biggest single-year acquisition programme in the FoFC's 68-year history.
The charity raises money from various sources. Since 1999, it has worked in partnership with Cadw and the Church in Wales to take redundant churches in Wales into its care. In Wales, the charity receives funding for taking Anglican churches into its care. Of this, 70% comes from the Welsh Government through Cadw, and 30% from the Church in Wales.
In England, the charity does not receive regular public funding, but has obtained grants from bodies such as English Heritage. In 2024–25, conservation projects at St James's Church, Llangua in Monmouthshire and St Lawrence's Church, Gumfreston in Pembrokeshire were supported by the National Heritage Memorial Fund and the Garfield Weston Foundation. Other income comes from donations, membership fees and legacies from members of the public. Some churches have been supported by the formation of local groups of Friends. The charity administers two trusts, one of which, the Cottam Will Trust, was established by Rev S. E. Cottam for "the advancement of religion of objects of beauty to be placed in ancient Gothic churches either in England or Wales".
All the churches owned by the charity are listed buildings, and most are former Anglican churches, either from the Church of England or the Church in Wales, although there are also private chapels, Nonconformist sites and a Roman Catholic church.
On the charity's 50th anniversary in 2007 it published a book titled Saving Churches, containing details of their history and accounts of their churches. The charity describes itself as an architectural conservation organisation which aims to preserve beautiful places of worship as public monuments. The charity told The Guardian newspaper in 2019 that cared-for and cherished should not mean fossilised, and instead they want to offer their places of worship for public events such as concerts, knitting groups, seasonal lectures, art exhibitions, supper clubs and the occasional religious ceremony. "They intend to carry on working tirelessly to preserve what Shakespeare described as our magnificent 'sermons in stone' for generations to come", The Guardian stated.