Sunday services at House of Commons’ parish church are axed due to budget cuts during coronavirus crisis

By Rachael Burford, Local Democracy Reporter

Sunday services will be axed at the House of Commons’ historic parish church due to “painful” budget cuts caused by the pandemic.

Staff and worshippers at the 12th-century St Margaret’s in Parliament Square, where Winston Churchill got married, said they were “dumbfounded” by the move, which has also thrown the future of its renowned professional choir into doubt.

The church sits in the grounds of Westminster Abbey, which has traditionally covered the church’s £200,000-a-year running costs.

The Abbey receives no outside funding and now faces a “drastic” drop of about £10 million in tourist income.

In a letter to the congregation, Reverend Anthony Ball, who took over as rector during lockdown, said maintaining separate Sunday worship was “not sustainable”.

Weekly services will now take place at Westminster Abbey. Memorial services, work with Parliament and occasional marriages are expected to continue for the time being.

Rev Ball said he had “sleepless nights” over the decision, adding: “Even after we have stripped back our budget severely, we have had to make the painful decision to begin consultations with staff that will result in a substantial number of redundancies.”

Counter-tenor Tim Mead, 39, has been singing in the St Margaret’s choir, which has almost 20 paid members, for 17 years.

He said: “The changes are very upsetting for everyone.”

On Saturday the Abbey will open to visitors, with reduced entrance fees, for the first time in almost four months – its longest period of closure since the Queen’s coronation nearly 70 years ago.

A spokesman said: “This is not purely a financial decision. Future musical arrangements are under review as part of the Abbey’s wider restructuring plans, and it would be inappropriate to comment during this process.”

Pictured top: St Margaret’s Church Parliament Square (Picture: Eirian-Evans)