Cash strapped historic churches helped by the National Churches Trust as the COVID-19 pandemic has had a serious impact on the finances of many churches.
image: for illustration purposes only – Joanna Theobald
National Churches Trust writes:
Many have been unable to raise money from worshippers, visitors or from the hire of church halls. With the help of its Friends and supporters, including the Wolfson Foundation, the National Churches Trust is supporting 45 of the UK’s historic churches and chapels with a grant payout of over £500,000, money which will help fund repairs, maintenance and the installation of community facilities.
Many have been unable to raise money from worshippers, visitors or from the hire of church halls.
With the help of its Friends and supporters, including the Wolfson Foundation, the National Churches Trust is supporting 45 of the UK’s historic churches and chapels with a grant payout of over £500,000, money which will help fund repairs, maintenance and the installation of community facilities.
Churches being helped include:
Selby Abbey, Selby, Yorkshire. A £25,000 National Churches Trust Cornerstone Grant will help fund repairs to the Grade I listed Selby Abbey, Selby, making the church watertight and preserving its historic fabric. Built on the banks of the Ouse, the Abbey is on a grand scale and to a high level of architectural and artistic mastery. It was founded in 1069 by William the Conqueror, the first monastery in the north after the Norman Conquest predating both York and Durham.
St Mary and St Melor Church, Amesbury, Wiltshire. A £30,000 National Churches Trust Cornerstone Grant will help fund roof and masonry repairs at the Grade I listed St Mary and St Melor church, Amesbury, making the church watertight and preserving its historic fabric. The church is a building of national significance which dates back to 979AD.
Ipswich Unitarian Meeting House, Suffolk. A £40,000 National Churches Trust Cornerstone Grant will help fund structural repairs at the Grade I listed Ipswich Unitarian Meeting House making it watertight and preserving its historic fabric. The church is currently on the Historic England ‘At Risk Register’. The Ipswich Unitarian Meeting House built in the 17th century is regarded by various sources as the ‘finest timber framed meeting house of its kind in Britain’.
Urgent repairs
Broadcaster and journalist Huw Edwards, Vice President of The National Churches Trust, said:
“The UK’s historic churches and chapels are a vital part of our national heritage. During the coronavirus pandemic churches have done so much to help vulnerable local people and boost morale”.
“Many churches need to carry out urgent repairs and install modern facilities to ensure their buildings can continue to be used well into the future. But the cost of this work is often far beyond what most congregations can pay for themselves and many are facing funding shortages because of the coronavirus lockdown.”
“So I’m delighted that the Trust is providing grants of over half a million pounds to keep more churches and chapels in good repair so that they can remain open and benefit local people.”
Wolfson Foundation
£100,000 of funding for 18 of the grants has been provided by the Wolfson Foundation.
Paul Ramsbottom, Chief Executive at the Wolfson Foundation, said: “Churches play a central role in the spiritual life of a community but they are also an integral, much loved, part of our cultural heritage. We are delighted to be working in partnership with the National Churches Trust on this important programme supporting the preservation of these remarkable and wonderful buildings across the UK.”
Full details
Full details of 20 Cornerstone Grants for fabric repairs and the installation of modern facilities? can be found below, listed in alphabetical order of Counties. A photo gallery can be viewed at the bottom of this page and on Flickr.
Additional Gatweway Grants to fund a range of church building maintenance, small repair and development projects have been awarded via the National Churches Trust and by the Wolfson Foundation.
These are the second-round of grants made by the National Churches Trust in 2020. To date this year, the Trust has awarded or recommended 145 grants totalling just over £1 million.
