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APPLICATION TO RE-INSTATE CHURCH RAILINGS
To: Councillors, Cambridge City Council
23 November 2009
Proposal to re-instate railings on the wall of the Round Church, Bridge Street
Christian Heritage is approaching Cambridge City Council West/Central Area Committee for a pledge of 50% part funding of a possible total of £45,000 for the re-instatement of the railings around the Church of the Holy Sepulchre or Round Church. This includes consultant and planning fees.
Christian Heritage is a Cambridge-based charity which was formed to run the Round Church as a visitor centre in 2001. It has a tenancy agreement with the owners St Andrews the Great Church PCC.
Christian Heritage wishes to re-submit a proposal that it be given permission to re-instate railings on the low walls on three sides of the church ie. along the passage to the Union Society, the front of the church in Bridge Street and in Round Church Street. This would also involve hanging two gates in the gateways in Bridge Street and Round Church Street. Currently there is just one single wooden gate in Bridge Street. In addition new double gates are planned for the main entrance to the church. There are now no gates hanging here. A light hanging above the double gate could be an additional feature.
The scheme
The design would be agreed with all necessary parties within the City Council, Diocese of Ely and English Heritage. We are aware that Christian Heritage would need to apply for planning permission and a Faculty to reinstate the railings in the first instance. It is envisaged that the railings would be light in appearance and similar to that shown on the attached print of the church in the 1880s.
The Round Church
The round part of the church was built around 1130 by the 'fraternity of the Holy Sepulchre' influenced by the round church in Jerusalem of the same name built in the 4th century by the Roman Emperor Constantine. It is one of only four remaining round churches in England and is currently visited by approximately 70,000 visitors a year. This includes local residents, visitors to Cambridge from around the UK and many from overseas. The appearance of the church grounds is therefore of the utmost importance.
Purpose and rationale
Since it took over the building Christian Heritage has sought to care for the building and the grounds. It has created a visitor centre in the church and has appreciated cooperation with the City Council in re-landscaping the grounds. The church stands in one of the busiest areas of Cambridge. As well as visitors to the church, many use the open space of the church grounds sitting on the benches and on the grass in fine weather.
Re-instating railings would enable the gardens including flower beds to be much better maintained preventing people climbing over the walls and trampling on the beds.
It is planned that we lock the gates to the grounds from dusk to dawn. In the dark winter months locking up would be no earlier than 5pm when the church closes. This will prevent those who frequent the grounds at nights from leaving empty bottles of alcohol, using the grounds as a toilet and undertaking acts of vandalism. Dave Coventry Head of Street Scene reports that members of his staff experience excessive demands on clearing the grounds each day especially from litter, cigarette ends and the result of the consumption of alcohol including evidence of urination. This has implications for health and safety. He has agreed that he will ensure that the gates are locked and unlocked each day.
There is a long standing rule issued by St Andrew the Great Church forbidding the possession or consumption of alcohol on the site. Over the years we have implemented this rule with the help of the police so that visitors are now more able to enjoy using the grounds. However, it is still a challenge ensuring the grounds are an alcohol free zone and locking the gates would mean that those with alcohol would have to leave with their bottles before they become even more unruly. The railings will help protect the church and site in the hours of darkness. With others on staff I frequently have to spend time on arriving at the church in the mornings clearing bottles, litter, even human excrement which is the result of the previous night’s activity in the church grounds. Erecting railings would vastly improve the cleanliness and appearance of this famous city landmark making it available to be enjoyed by all from dawn to dusk daily.
Church railings are a common sight in the centre of Cambridge eg. St Andrew the Great, Holy Trinity, St Botolph’s, St Bene'ts, St Clement’s and St John's College opposite also have railings. It is not envisaged they would be overbearingly high, perhaps no more than two metres from the ground to the top of the railings.
Support
As well as Head of Street Scene we have the full support of the the Union Society and the Cambridge College of Arts and Sciences both in Round Church Street. We look forward to getting the support of St Andrew the Great following a meeting of their property committee in January.
Funding
If the City Council could fund 50% of the cost of the project Christian Heritage would provide the remaining 50%.
We trust Councillors will look favourably on this proposal.
This application was turned down by Cambridge City Council West/Central Area Committee.
Following two articles in the Cambridge News on the railings this letter was sent to the paper on 21 December 2009 for printing in their letters page:
Sir,
The recent article about proposals for railings to be reinstated around the Round Church (CN, 18 December 2009) quoted Wintercomfort and the Cambridge Union but, surprisingly, gave Christian Heritage no opportunity to comment even though it was severely criticised. Worse still, your article left the impression that the language used by others about the homeless reflects the attitudes of Christian Heritage. For the record we have posted a copy of our application to the City Council on our website (www.christianheritage.org.uk/RoundChurch/ChurchBuilding/Railings) so that your readers can see for themselves exactly what we said and did not say; there was no hint whatsoever in our application of the "prejudiced and unsubstantiated" claims attributed to us.
Christian Heritage has managed the Round Church and its grounds since 2001 after the congregation which once met there had outgrown the building and moved elsewhere. The grounds are enjoyed daily by residents, workers, families, students and tourists and the Round Church itself is a Cambridge landmark visited by over 70,000 people a year. We have three paid staff, two of whom are women, and a number of volunteers, many of whom are ladies of retirement age, who are on site from about 9.30am to 5.30pm. The proposal to reinstate low railings was first suggested by officers of the City Council and would simply bring the Round Church into line with many of the historic buildings in the city centre. From records we know that there were railings around the church in 1939 and they were almost certainly removed during WWII. The purpose behind the proposal was - as your article noted - "to erect [a] fence and gates, which would be locked from dusk till dawn to prevent vandalism, public urination and litter". We do not attribute such behaviour to any single segment of the local community, homeless or otherwise. However, the fact remains that frequently the first task of our day is to remove empty drink bottles and, occasionally, even human excrement from the garden area before visitors begin to arrive. We understand from your article that City councillors have decided that managing anti-social behaviour through more active policing (and presumably using outreach teams) in the area is the right way forward and we hope that this will prove to be a viable solution to a challenging and multi-faceted problem.
Christian Heritage exists to run the visitor centre at the Round Church, to highlight through our displays the positive influence of our Christian heritage on the history of Cambridge and the modern world, to run courses in theological education, and to hold special events which allow people to consider the "big questions" in life. Christian Heritage believes that every human being, whether he or she sleeps in a palace or on a pavement, is worthy of the utmost respect and that care for the homeless is a duty, not only of Christians but of any civilised society. So, like many people in the city, we welcome and appreciate the work of Wintercomfort, similar organisations and churches which care for the homeless, particularly at this time of year, but we are not at liberty under charity law to apply our funds directly to support the homeless. (Incidentally, railings would not have been funded from our existing resources but would have needed a project-specific grant which might, for example, have come from a body making grants to preserve historic buildings.) We shall be very pleased to discuss with Wintercomfort whether a collection box could be placed in the Round Church to allow visitors to make donations to help the homeless.
Yours sincerely
Martin Lown,
Acting Director,
Christian Heritage
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Martin Lown, 21/12/2009 |
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