One of Britain’s oldest churches, St John the Baptist Church in Tideswell, Derbyshire, has been without heating for almost a year, The Guardian writes on August 24.
The church of St. John the Baptist has been without heating since October 2023, when three gas boilers broke down during the flooding caused by Storm Babet.
Church wardens said their applications for new boilers were rejected and delayed despite the lack of an environmentally friendly alternative. They claim the diocese has refused to replace the gas boilers, citing the goal of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2030, which requires all applications for new boilers to be submitted to the local diocese for approval.
Parishioners told The Telegraph that the Church of England’s reluctance to deviate from doctrine poses a serious threat to the church’s historic building and the physical and spiritual health of its elderly parishioners. Because of dampness in the church, decorative carvings began to deteriorate and organs broke several times.
Attendance has dwindled to a trickle, with older parishioners shielding the service in two coats and scarves.
The church’s warden, Peter Robinson, 79, said he submitted an emergency request to the Derby diocese but it was rejected a week or two before Christmas 2023. His assistant, Mike Burrell, equally elderly, said diocese officials had told them that “The only way to get gas boilers is to present arguments explaining that there are no alternatives.”
The electricity supplier National Grid told them there was not enough power on the power lines supplying the village to install an electric heating system in the church.
However, a second application for new boilers was also rejected.
“You should have seen all of us: scarf, two layers of clothing, boots, socks. We tried to put little heaters on one or two benches, but all they did was warm our toes a little because the building is so big.one of the parishioners told reporters. — People come to weddings and funerals and everyone is cold. Imagine going to a funeral, being terribly sad and sitting in a cold, cold church.”
Rebuilt between 1340 and 1400 in late Gothic style, St John the Baptist is one of Derbyshire’s most famous churches.
Source: Rossa Primavera
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