Number of Herefordshire's ‘at risk’ churches grows

The closed, grade II*-listed St Silas church in Bollingham near Kington is the latest addition to the Heritage At Risk register maintained by government body Historic England, which now ranks it as “poor”.

Believed to date from the from the 12th or 13th century but largely rebuilt and extended in the 19th, the building is currently covered in tarpaulin to protect its sandstone roofing slates, said by Historic England to be “in poor condition”, while the interior “is netted to catch falls of plaster from the roof lining”.

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It was put on the market for £45,000 in 2022, with estate agents Sunderlands saying it was “available for continued church use”, while alternative commercial uses would be “subject to obtaining satisfactory planning consent”.

The Church of England then consulted earlier this year on plans for it “to be sold for preservation as a monument and holiday accommodation”.

The entry brings the number of churches or former churches in the county classed as at risk to 23.

St Peter's Church in Hereford is in 'immediate risk of further rapid deterioration' They include the landmark St Peter’s Church in central Hereford, described as at “immediate risk of further rapid deterioration or loss of fabric” due to a leaky roof needing “urgent renewal”. Currently there is “no solution agreed” with the church to deal with this, the register adds.

In all, 54 listed sites in Herefordshire classed as at risk, with none having been removed from the register this year.

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They include the conservation areas of Ross-on-Wye and Kington town centres, sections of the historic Offa’s Dyke border earthwork, and six ruined castles or castle mounds.

Meanwhile one historic building has been added to the roughly 6,000 in Herefordshire formally listed by Historic England.

Now given a grade II listing, the Old House farmhouse east of Pontrilas is described a timber-framed cottage later encased in stone, which “retains its character and legibility as a post-medieval farmhouse”.