Guidelines as to what churches should preserve

Resolution 1 of General Assembly 1997 invited the General Secretary, in conjunction with the United Reformed Church History Society and representatives of the archives profession, if available, to provide guidelines on retention, location, disposal etc. for the records of the United Reformed Church at all levels.

For many years the Assembly guidance to local congregations has been that the main records of a local church when they have ceased to be of current administrative use should be deposited in Local County Record Offices on permanent loan.  This is unlikely to be longer than 10 years from the date of creation, or in the case of Minutes, Accounts etc from the date of the final entry in the volume.  County and City Archivists are usually welcoming and helpful in offering professional advice.  Records deposited in this way will normally be held for the depositor (who continues to be the legal owner) free of charge, in safe and secure conditions.  A receipt will be given and a listing provided.  Where applicable conservation will be carried out.

The History Society has prepared the following guidelines for local churches on the material to be preserved. For the sake of safety, these items should be kept in a secure part of the church premises rather than in private homes, and access should be restricted to particular church officers and where applicable one or two named individuals only.  The area selected must be as fire-proof as possible, well ventilated, and free from damp and mould (ie in a location unlikely to be affected by burst water pipes, flooding, rodent or insect activity).

1. Registers of Marriages are civil records, and those not forwarded to the Superintendent Registrar of the area should be kept in an immovable, and preferably anchored, safe.  Registers of Baptisms and Deaths are also essential for certification purposes from time to time, and should therefore also be kept in this safe.
2. Minute Books (Church Meeting and Elders), together with those of other groups, e.g. deacons, managers and other organised activities eg Sunday School/Junior Church.  Where the records are in loose leaf format, rather than in a book, consideration should be given either to binding the loose leaf material, or to keeping a separate archive copy from that which is used as a working copy.
3. Accounts and financial records. (Churches are required to retain these for seven years for revenue purposes anyway.)
4. Lists of members, and/or adherents, dated should be preserved, conforming with current provisions of Data Protection.
5. Brochures/orders of service for special occasions, dated.  (Ordinations, inductions, festivals etc).
6. All surviving exterior and interior architectural plans of the church and other premises (eg hall, manse), especially elevations, sections, floor and roof plans, together with allied documents, dated.  Where the plans are not retained on the premises, a note should be kept in the church safe of their whereabouts (eg with the architect).
7. A note of the whereabouts of the Trust Deed(s) of the congregation eg Synod Office
8. Photographs (ministers/church officers/other personalities) identified and dated, and of other occasions where the event can be positively identified.
9. A Record of
   a) Furnishings and banners etc, (to include lighting fixtures, eg chandeliers), dated - especially in cases of renovation/refurbishment; artefacts given to church eg by visiting missionaries/speakers, provided origin can be ascertained
   b) Church silver, plate, china, mugs etc. (A photographic record is desirable in case of theft, which should be kept separately.)
   c) Memorial tablets (with a note of the text, if any have been removed).
   d) War memorial(s), including a list of names.  (This should be registered with the Imperial War Museum, Lambeth Road, London SE1 6HZ).
   e) Stained glass, if applicable.
   f) Memorabilia from uniformed groups or others eg Band of Hope, Brotherhood, Women’s Meeting, football team.
   g) Time Capsule – any material buried with a foundation stone, which might become available as a result of renovation or rebuilding.*
10. List of tombs in graveyards (and if applicable inside the church) with inscriptions where possible, since these tend to wear with age.  Some local Family History Societies will assist in transcribing information to ensure that the record survives.
11. Church histories.
12. Church Magazines, preferably bound in years or groups of years.
13. Memoirs/memories of ministers, church members and others (where not included in magazines or histories).  These may increasingly take the form of videos and tapes (transcripts can be helpful in such instances).  Some University Libraries, where there is a Local History Department, are interested in oral history.
14. At least an index to any church library.

It would be appreciated if notification of any deposits made to Record Offices be sent to the URC History Society, Westminster College, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0AA.

If a church is closed, it is recommended that the material listed above should be deposited in the nearest County Record Office. Any document connected with trusts, charity endowments or ownership of property must be deposited after consultation with the Synod Office.

*Artefacts are more likely to find a home in a museum.