Case Study: Making Churches More Accessible

What is this case study about?

This case study is for organisations interested in developing a programme of support to improve accessibility in churches and other historic buildings.

The case study was produced on behalf of Historic England by Cloudesley, an independent charitable trust that makes grants to people, organisations and churches within the London Borough of Islington.

What are the key points?

What actions were taken?

In July 2022, Cloudesley launched a 3-year project focused on improving the accessibility of Church of England churches in the Islington Deanery.

The Church Access Project, a partnership with the Islington Deanery and the Diocese of London, consists of:

• Access audits funded by Cloudesley and delivered by Centre for Accessible Environments
• Grants of up to £10,000 to progress audit recommendations. Each church was guaranteed 1 grant as long as the funded work was eligible for support
• Learning and information-sharing opportunities

What were the challenges?

There was a good take-up of the access audits, but moving from audit to action proved more difficult. Some churches initially felt overwhelmed by the long list of recommendations. However, among the recommendations, there were many quick wins, such as moving a doormat to prevent a trip hazard, or removing objects from the accessible toilet. By breaking down the recommendations and creating an action plan, the work can be made manageable.

Additionally, with often very limited capacity in the churches, access was sometimes seen as a lower priority than other concerns the churches were dealing with. As a result, uptake of our grant offer, despite this being guaranteed for all churches, was much slower than expected.

How did the Social Model of Disability help this work?

Cloudesley is aligned with the Social Model of Disability, and it was important for us to carry this approach into the church accessibility work.

The Social Model of Disability states that the exclusion and discrimination people with impairments face is not an inevitable consequence of having an impairment but is caused instead by the way society is organised. People with impairments are 'disabled' by the barriers in society that exclude them.

We commissioned Inclusion London to deliver Disability Equality Training to the churches which focused on the Social Model of Disability. With the churches facing many competing priorities, the Social Model helps frame why access work should not be overlooked. It challenges the thinking that access work is a major undertaking for a minority, highlighting how a lack of access is a societal problem rather than an individual's issue.

The training also covered attitude and language issues – in creating an accessible building, it is important to ensure an inclusive and welcoming environment within it.

Were there conflicts between access and heritage concerns?

In some cases, church buildings had inaccessible features that could not be altered due to their heritage significance. However, there are often creative solutions to be found.

For instance, if nosings cannot be added to steps, then cleaning one side of a stone step and not the other can often result in sufficient colour contrast to help people see the step more clearly. If a permanent ramp cannot be added to the entrance, then a temporary, removable ramp could offer a solution without permanently altering the fabric of the building.

What else was done?

Opportunities for the churches to learn about accessibility also formed part of the project.

They included:

• A newsletter to signpost churches to resources and events
• A visit to a church that had undertaken a major access project
• Forum meetings on the topic of accessibility
• Signposting to the Diocese of London's 360 Accessibility Audit, devised by Rev John Beauchamp, which takes a holistic approach to access and inclusion

What lessons were learned?

Moving from audit to action proved challenging due to barriers of capacity and expertise. Learning from this informed our Sustainable Church Buildings Project, for which we engaged a consultancy to support churches to enact the recommendations. This has helped churches to progress the work with more confidence.

Further reading

For more information about the Church Access Project, visit Cloudesley’s website.

For more information about Disability Equality Training and access audits, visit the Inclusion London and Centre for Accessible Environments websites.