Calderdale church wins award as UK’s best maintained church

The award and a prize of £7,500 was presented to Peter Henry, Church Warden of Christ Church at the National Churches Trust’s Local Treasures event.

Judges were impressed with how maintenance was a well-organized team effort at the church involving the architect, Parochial Church Council, churchwardens and volunteers, and the impact this had made on keeping the church well maintained.

In addition, the maintenance team use social media to share news about maintenance with the congregation, making sure that the whole church community is aware of key issues.

Peter Henry, Church Warden at Christ Church said: “On behalf of the PCC I would like to thank you for this award. It means a lot to us and our congregation.

"Without them a lot of the work that we have undertaken here would not have actually happened.

"Next year sees our five-year quinquennial inspection, where we will put our maintenance plan in place to take us through the next five years.

"The grant that we received today will help towards carrying out maintenance work highlighted in this.”

Christ Church opened in May 1821, but its roots go back to 1526.

The architect responsible for the current building was John Oates of Halifax who produced what was described as being “a handsome and commodious chapel of the Gothic order of architecture”.

In 2019, the church received a grant from the National Churches Trust towards the costs of roof repairs.

Claire Walker, Chief Executive of the National Churches Trust said: "Congratulations to Christ Church in Sowerby Bridge, deserving winners of the 2020 Nayler Awards for church maintenance. The work of the team shows the benefits of having a good maintenance plan in place which helps to prevent costly repair bills in the future. We are delighted that The Pilgrim Trust have partnered with us in these awards, so that we can celebrate the unsung heroes who maintain church buildings.”