The perfect gift for history lovers.
For someone who pauses at old gravestones, who peers through church windows, who feels the pull of quiet places – this is the Christmas present that keeps giving. Buying a Christmas gift membership for someone you love will give them 71 historic churches to explore, a biannual magazine rich with stories and history, and the knowledge that they’re helping to save these buildings for future generations.
Individual membership: £30 | Household: £50 | Overseas £50
Please note that due to increased demand for new memberships at this time of the year, only orders placed before 12 December have a guarantee to be dispatched and reach you before Christmas (valid for UK based addresses only).
If you do not wish your gift recipient to hear from us before 25 December, please leave a comment while placing an order.
Beautifully illustrated issues packed with compelling stories from England and Wales’ most fascinating churches. From medieval mysteries to forgotten Victorian tales, each magazine uncovers remarkable insights you simply can’t find anywhere else.
“Your magazine really is a unique insight into an un-monitored realm of conservation and accompanied by excellent illustrations. It is first class.” – Sir Simon Jenkins, author of ‘England’s Thousand Best Churches’
A gift certificate with your personal message, a warm welcome letter, our latest magazine, pocket-friendly A-Z guide to all 71 churches, and three beautiful postcards featuring our most loved historic buildings. Arrives within 10 working days – or choose instant email delivery of the certificate to pop in a card yourself.
Updates on repair projects, quirky church stories, and heritage news delivered to their inbox every month. Plus our pocket-friendly A-Z guide to all 71 churches (perfect for planning visits or spontaneous exploring), and invitations to members-only events throughout the year – chances to meet experts, hear restoration stories, and connect with other enthusiasts.
They become part of something bigger: Your gift recipient joins a community protecting 71 historic churches across England and Wales. Their membership directly funds rescue and repair work at buildings like St Andrew’s, South Runcton or St Twrog’s, Bodwrog. They’re not just visiting these churches – they’re helping to save them for future generations.
A year of experiences, not more stuff: No wrapping paper clutter, nothing to return, nothing gathering dust. Just two magazines arriving through their door, unlimited church visits across England and Wales, and invitations to members-only events. The gift that creates memories instead of taking up space.
Something they’d never buy themselves (but will love that you did): This is the present that says “I know what you love and I’m supporting it.” Perfect for the person who’s genuinely difficult to buy for.
All Saints’, Ballidon, Derbyshire sits alone in an open field, reached through a narrow gap in a farmyard wall. This Norman church with its intriguing patchwork of stone has been altered and rebuilt over centuries – you might recognise it from Netflix’s The House of Guinness.
Inside, they’ll find an enigmatic medieval font carved with fish, bears, and mysterious figures (some upside-down), pretty Commandment Boards, and a hidden door in the oak reredos that reveals a miniature Romanesque arch with brightly painted zigzag patterns. It’s the kind of place that rewards curiosity – easy to miss, impossible to forget once found.
1. Click ‘Buy Gift Membership’ below
2. Enter your details and your recipient’s details
3. Choose instant email delivery or postal delivery (arrives within 10 days)
Done. They get a year of heritage, you get the perfect gift sorted.
Order by 12 December for guaranteed UK Christmas postal delivery.
St Giles’s, Tadlow
As the festive season draws closer, our charity Christmas cards have been a popular choice among our members and supporters. With two new designs to choose from this year, every pack sold directly support our work caring for churches 365 days a year.
“I have always enjoyed visiting old churches and therefore I was delighted to receive the gift of FOFC membership last Christmas. In the past we have enjoyed the Christmas service at St Lawrence in Gumfreston. It is heartwarming to know that we have made a small contribution to the amazing work to save that special building. We recently attended a thoroughly enjoyable FoFC open morning at St Michael’s church and learnt a great deal more about the range of skilled craftspeople and experts the FOFC can call upon, as well as willing volunteers.
“Gift membership is a simple way to show your support for this extraordinary charity.”
Steve, Pembrokeshire
Right now, across England and Wales, historic churches are disappearing. In England alone, more than 866 are at risk. Roofs are collapsing. Water is pouring in. Some are beyond repair.
The most recent figures show that over 310 churches are expected to close between 2023 and 2026. In Wales, 70% of places of worship could face closure before 2040.
These aren’t just buildings. They’re the greatest architectural and cultural legacy we have. They bore witness to weddings, funerals, baptisms. The cornerstones of human life. They stood resolute through history, shaped by generations of people, anchors for communities that have gathered in them for centuries.
But when they’re gone, they’re gone forever.
St James’s, Llangua
The Friends of Friendless Churches steps in when no one else can.
We’re a small charity – just five staff members supported by local volunteers – but we have a clear purpose: we rescue redundant historic churches from demolition, decay, and unsympathetic conversion. We’ve been doing this since 1957, and we currently look after 71 churches across England and Wales.
When we say rescue, we mean it. We take on churches where the roof is about to collapse, where the building is structurally unsafe, where water damage is pushing it beyond the brink of repair. We fundraise, we get permissions and consents, we employ highly skilled craftspeople and conservators, and we bring these buildings back from the edge.
St James’s, Llangua is where our story began – the first church our founder, Ivor Bulmer-Thomas, ever rescued. Nestled in a bend in the River Monnow for 800 years, it was dangerously unstable and heading for collapse. Three years of fundraising. One year of permissions. Fourteen months of repairs. The result? A beautiful, peaceful church, open for everyone to enjoy, rescued from ruin and returned to the community.
It’s one of 71 stories like this. And we’re not done yet.
The Friends of Friendless Churches is a company limited by guarantee. By becoming a member, you agree to pay to the Friends of Friendless Churches an amount of up to £1 if the company is wound up while you are a member or for up to twelve months after your membership has ended.
