Quinquennial inspections of church and cathedral buildings and the role of the inspecting architect

This paper looks at quinquennial inspection surveys and reports, a statutory requirement for all church and cathedral buildings in England and Wales and for many secular listed buildings. Drawing on her experience as Inspecting Architect to 45 church buildings and three cathedrals, the author outlines the practical requirements of the surveys and uses examples to explain the most common building defects identified by them. The paper discusses how surveys can be successfully employed to assist clients in the care of their historic buildings and to plan for capital building projects. This paper will be of interest to surveyors or architects who complete quinquennial inspection or condition survey reports. It may also be helpful to custodians of listed buildings who wish to understand more about the purpose of quinquennial inspections and to understand some of the most common recommendations. It will be of particular relevance to anyone working on ecclesiastical or listed building structures where there has been a history of poor maintenance or previous repairs, by offering technical information relating to a wide range of traditional building components. This article is also included in The Business & Management Collection which can be accessed at https://hstalks.com/business/.