CHURCH RECORDING by The Arts Society has been offered for a long time and has recently been made simpler than in the past.

Church Recorders promote recognition and preservation of the rich artistic heritage in places of worship by recording the contents of churches of all religions. Participating churches are presented with an illustrated book detailing each item and its history.

Church Recorders work as a team at a single local church or place of worship. In pairs, they research and document memorials, metalwork, stonework, woodwork, textiles, paintings, libraries, windows and other items.

It takes about three years to complete a Church Record, and the resulting volume can be presented to the church or other place of worship.

As well as being a source of tremendous pleasure and interest to Church Recorders and worshippers alike, Church Records serve a number of practical purposes. They are used by:

• the church authorities as a complete furnishing record
• the police, who can use the accurate descriptions and photographs to identify retrieved stolen artefacts
• Insurance companies who use the Records to identify items
• Researchers who are producing theses and books on allied subjects.

Presenting Records

In addition to the volume presented to the church, Church Records are also presented to relevant national bodies. For example, when a Church Record of an Anglican Church in England is completed, copies are lodged with:

• the church
• the local County Records Office (or the Diocesan authorities)
• the Church Buildings Council
• the Victoria and Albert Museum 
• English Heritage Archives

Who benefits? 

Recently the Church Trail tradition has been extended to include trails of local Memorials and to provide easy forms of trails that can benefit people with learning issues. Our aim is to augment the range of people likely to use Trails.