Church Commissioners Architects Department

The records included here are those created or received by the Official Architect's Department whilst engaged in the care and maintenance of See Houses. This is the period during which care and responsibility for the See Houses was centralised to the Church Commissioners.

ECE/7/1/8062

The Church Commissioner's Architect department was an in-house practise specialising in historic buildings. This speciality was required because of the Church's involvement in such properties. The department was also responsible for the management of overseas and suffragan see houses. The Department also had responsibility for the construction, maintenance and restoration of other Church Commission properties, mainly its headquarters 1 Millbank itself and its numerous estates, some of which date back to the nineteenth century. The policy makers to which the Architect's Department reported to have included the See Houses Committee (up to 1964), the Houses Committee, the Estates and Finance Committee and the General Purposes Committee. These bodies were responsible for the decisions that determined the responsibilities of the Architects Department and also that sanctioned professional decisions or proposals put forward by the Department. In the nineteenth century it was unusual for the Civil Service or for any other major central organisation to employ salaried architects. When professional advice was needed it was then the practice to use a suitable firm of private architects. In February 1842, a committee meeting was held that appointed Mr Railton as the Church Commissioner's architectural agent. He was enlisted to oversee the architectural requirements of the Churches historic properties and given the main duties of producing architectural surveys, drawing up plans, valuing and consulting with contractors such as local builders, surveyors and engineers. These duties were carried out for each property as and when they were required and he was paid a fixed fee for each particular service. From 1860 the service was provided by a Mr Christian of the practice, Christian, Caroe and Purday and later by Mr WD Caroe following the retirement of Mr Christian. In 1895 the Ecclesiastical Commissioners appointed Mr W D Caroe as a consulting architect. This arrangement remained until his death in 1938. In the following year the Ecclesiastical Commissioners decided that their architects were to be precluded from private practice and that they should appoint an Official Architect. Mr Passmore, one of Mr Caroe's partners adopted that role in 1939. He continued in the post of Consulting Architect in support of Mr A P Lay, the first Official Architect. Until 1943 the administration and cost of maintenance of the see houses was arranged upon a local or diocesan basis. The bishops together with their staff were responsible for financing and making arrangements for the upkeep of the houses. ; The origins of the centralisation of responsibility for the care and maintenance of the See Houses can be seen in 1924 with an enquiry by a Church Assembly Commission into the properties and revenues of the Church of England. It was proposed that as many of the See Houses were ancient and historical properties of considerable size requiring exceptional expenditure on maintenance and repairs, liability for this responsibility be transferred from the bishops to the Diocesan Board of Finance. If, however, a property was deemed of historical nature or of excessive size, the Ecclesiastical Commissioner's were required to contribute. ; ; These proposals were investigated by a subsequent Commission which prepared the Ecclesiastical Commissioner's Measure, 1926. The Ecclesiastical Commissioners were entirely responsible for Lambeth Palace and were required to pay a part of the upkeep of seventeen See Houses, including Bath and Wells, Ely, Guildford, Norwich and London. ; The Episcopal and Stipends Measure 1943 radically altered the administration of the income and expenses of the archbishops and bishops, particularly in relation to their houses of residence or see houses. The measure empowered the Ecclesiastical Commissioners to "take over the endowments and property of any see, to pay the bishop of the diocese an appropriate stipend, to provide for him a suitable residence, to accept responsibility in respect of certain stipends and other official expenses and to deal with any existing house of residence belonging to the see". It facilitated the centralisation for maintenance of the See Houses and effectively transferred the ownership of the properties to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. The Measure made it possible for the ECs to take over, as part of a scheme for each see, the episcopal house of residence. The Commissioners were granted control over the property, but letting it to the diocesan authority. Further they could convert it to whatever purpose deemed necessary or even sell or demolish it. The Architects Department's role in relation to the See Houses therefore became significant particularly as many of the properties were historic in nature and so required specialist skills and constant attention. ; The Church Commissioners decided that to implement a regular and thorough system of inspection for See Houses it would be necessary to strengthen the role of the Architects Department. Previously the Department had only been called in to deal with a problem after it had occurred. Therefore an official department with defined responsibilities was being formed in the post war years. The Department's relationship with other departments within the Church Commissioners changed during the years focused upon here. This can be traced partly in the arrangement of files and the reference codes given to them. The files show the division of work done by the Department. The initial files up to 1964 bear the code '94756' relating to the Episcopal Endowments and Stipends Measure. The department was initially responsible to the Estates and Finance Committee until in 1960 an ad hoc See Houses Committee was established with the specific task of making recommendations as to the suitability of each See House as a permanent residence for diocesan bishops. When this task was completed in 1963 the See Houses Committee was dissolved. Responsibilities under the Episcopal Endowments and Stipends Measure were to be divided between two newly created bodies, The General Purposes Committee who were to deal with stipends and the Houses Committee which advised the Board of Governors on all matters concerned with property. The Architects department was responsible to the Houses Committee. This is reflected in the See House case file reference codes which changed to an 'H' prefix. Throughout this period and up to 1978 the relationship with the Bishopric Department remained intact. However in 1978 the Architects were given an autonomous role separate from the Bishoprics Department which is reflected in the file reference for the See Houses changing to SH/OA. Further changes occurred in the 1980s. The post of Official Architect was dissolved in 1981 and the Department integrated within the Bishoprics Department. ; Care and maintenance of the See Houses was devolved to many dioceses although those within easy travelling distance from London were retained under central control. ; ; Please note that the above note was taken Chris Campbell MA report created in 1998; ; ; List of private architects serving as the Commissioners architects: ; Mr W. Railton 1842 -1850; Mr E. Christian 1851 -1895; Mr WD Caroe 1895- 1938; ; In the following year the Ecclesiastical Commissioners decided that their architects were to be precluded from private practice and that they should appoint an Official Architect. ; List of Ecclesiastical Commissioners Official Architects; ; Mr Passmore 1939 - 1948 He continued in the post of Consulting Architect in support of Mr A P Lay, the first Official Architect. List of Church Commissioners Official Architects; ; Mr. A. P. Lay 1949-1957; Mr. A. G. Alexander 1958-1963; Mr. R.G Wood 1964-1975; Mrs P Roach 1976; Mr. N. Riley 1977 - 1981; ; ; Church Commissioners Official Architects ; ; Mr. A. P. Lay 1949-1957; Mr. A. G. Alexander 1958-1963; Mr. R.G Wood 1964-1975; Mrs P Roach 1976; Mr. N. Riley 1977 - 1981;