Taking Stock is a project of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales. It provides an architectural and historical assessment of churches in regular use for public worship. These are mainly diocesan parish churches, but the project also includes churches owned by religious orders and institutions, where these are in regular public use and where the owners have agreed to participate in the project.
The purpose of Taking Stock is to provide an architectural and historical audit of Catholic churches in England and Wales. It is intended to be an aid to dioceses, parishes, statutory authorities and the general public, so that the heritage significance of buildings may be given due weight when proposals for change come forward.
The Taking Stock reviews were undertaken on a diocese-by-diocese basis, starting in 2005 with the dioceses of Arundel & Brighton and Lancaster, and concluding in 2020 with East Anglia. The Arundel & Brighton review was undertaken by Nick Antram and Teresa Sladen; all other reviews were undertaken by the Architectural History Practice (AHP). About 2,800 churches were visited, and each has a dedicated page on this website, describing the building and its history and giving details of its architect and heritage status.
The entries mostly represent a snapshot of churches at the time of review. Unless stated otherwise, the text and photographs date from that time, and have not been updated. If you wish to provide updated information (eg concerning major alteration or reordering, closure/demolition, change of ownership or change in listed status) or updated photographs (high resolution, landscape format only), please get in touch (see ‘Contact Us’ at the bottom of this page).
