LECTURES
The Slow Doom of Parish Churches – How to move them from crisis to salvation
This year’s Wren Talk will be given by Sir Simon Jenkins on Tuesday 6th October at St Bride's Church, Fleet Street.
Increasing numbers of local churches across the country face closure because of declining congregations and rising repair costs including the recent Treasury imposition of VAT on those repairs.
This year’s guest speaker – Sir Simon Jenkins – will outline the extent of the problem and his proposal on how we could address it – not least bearing in mind Wren’s church-building programme in post-Fire London.
Sir Simon is a Guardian columnist, a former editor of the Evening Standard and The Times, and a former chairman of the National Trust. He has also written several books including England's Thousand Best Churches and A Short History of England.
The Talk – the fifteenth in the series – and the Q&A session which follows will be chaired by Paul Finch, Programme Director of the World Architecture Festival.
The evening will conclude with a drinks reception for attendees at the back of the church.
Admission
for the event which is free. We hope you might consider a suggested donation of £15 towards the upkeep and maintenance of this historic Grade I listed Wren church.
St Bride's is wholly reliant on and deeply grateful for the generous support of our visitors and those who attend events.
Donations can be made when you register for the event, by cash or contactless at the Talk or via JustGiving.
Do please Gift Aid your donation if you are eligible which generates an extra 25p in every £1 donated.
If you need assistance with registration please contact the office on 020 7427 0133 or email stb@stbrides.com.
Further Information
The Wren Talk was established in 2012 as part of the Inspire! Appeal which carried out essential restoration to preserve the spire and ensure the future of St Bride’s.
Find out more about the lecture series together with an archive of past speakers and recordings on the Wren Talk page.
Directions & Accessibility
Directions to St Bride's Church and information about accessibility are available on our Visit Us page.
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