Redundant church

[2] Reasons for redundancy include population movements, changing social patterns, merging of parishes, and decline in church attendance (especially in the Global North).

[6] Other reasons include the amalgamation of parishes; or a preference for another building where two churches are in close proximity, for example at Swaffham Prior, Cambridgeshire.

For example, many redundant churches were formerly maintained in deserted or shrunken medieval villages (such as Wharram Percy in Yorkshire).

The square mile City of London has only a few thousand permanent residents—far smaller than its historic population, as most workers now commute from outside its boundaries—leaving many redundant churches there.

Others are art galleries, coffee shops, and even pubs and clubs (e.g. High Pavement Chapel in Nottingham).

[5] In some cases—such as the grade-I-listed St Ninian's, Brougham, a Churches Conservation Trust church—the building's remote location makes alternative use impractical.

The popularity of Methodism and other non-conformist churches in the 19th century has left many chapel buildings which cannot be sustained.