Incorporated Church Building Society

n 1818 the Society for Promoting the Enlargement and Building of Churches and Chapels was founded to provide funds for the building and enlargement of Anglican churches throughout England and Wales. It succeeded the system of church briefs by which churches were sometimes repaired. The Society was incorporated by Act of Parliament in 1828 as The Incorporated Society for Promoting the Enlargement, Building and Repairing of Churches and Chapels. Later in the century it adopted the title by which it is still known, The Incorporated Church Building Society (ICBS). Since 1982 the Society’s administration has been transferred to the Historic Churches Preservation Trust (subsequently the National Churches Trust).