Letters 'to the Editor
SHOULD CHURCHES BE SAVED ?
SIR,-1 am sorry That the Archdeacon of Leeds has come out in open support of the proposal to' demolish the noble church of Holy Trinity, Leeds, for this will make it more difficult for him to abandon a position which must be abandoned if the honour of the Church is not to suffer.
The Archdeacon writes as though the choice were between ' buildings ' and people,' but in fact there is only one argu- ment in favour of demolition, namely, the value of the site, and every argument, spiritual as well as architectural, is on the other side.
The most depressing thing about the Arch- .dcacon's letter is that it reveals no conception of the value of a beautiful church as a means of bringing people to Christ. To give only one recent example, may I recall C. E. M. Joad's acknowledgement that it was the beauty of our parish churches (and Lincoln Cathedral) that set his feet back on the road to the Christian faith that he had abandoned in his youth.
Holy Trinity, Leeds, which the Archdeacon regards as an ' asset,' as though he were a director of a building society surveying the balance sheet, is n perpetual prayer in stone calling the people of a great city to their knees. Its maintenance is a sacred trust with our forefathers who built it and have worshipped in it. Leeds has only two old churches, and to pull down one of them in good condition merely for the cash it would bring has shocked the consciences not only of antiquarians but of Christian laymen throughout the country. The site may be valuable in terms of sterling, but how much more valuable it is as a means of keeping the Gospel before the minds of the workers in central Leeds. Money obtained by such a means could not fail to carrya. curse with it.
If the proposal is persisted in, there will be serious repercussions far beyond Leeds. Inevitably the demand, barely suppressed in 1913. will again be raised that such buildings should be taken out of the control of the ecclesiastical authorities. I hear the mutter- ings already.
The Archdeacon seems to resent the fact that the Executive Committee of the Historic Churches Preservation Trust has felt com- pelled to make an earnest plea for the abandonment of the scheme. But how can we conscientiously invite the public to sub- scribe for the repair of churches in decay if the ecclesiastical authorities pull down fine old churches in good condition ? I beg the Archdeacon to reconsider this scheme; and, as one who came to know and love the West Riding well in a political association of fifteen years, I can assure him that ample money will be forthcoming both for the building of new churches and for the preserva- tion of old ones if the appeal is made with force and conviction.—Yours faithfully,
IVOR BULMFR-THOMAS
Historic Churches Preservation Trust Fulhani Palace, S.W.6
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