Grants for Fabric Repairs
Apart from the major grant givers and the CBC conservation grants, there are a number of other organisations which can help you fund repairs.
Local Authorities
The Local Authority (Historic Buildings) Act 1962 and Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 permit a local authority (whether at County, District or Parish Council level) to contribute by grant or loan towards the maintenance or repair of historic buildings in its area, including churches. Local authorities should be encouraged to make greater use of this power to assist in maintaining what is often one of the chief local cultural assets and tourist attractions; when applying, it is important that your church is represented in that light. Enquiries should be addressed to the Planning Officer concerned.
Parish councils (which are often responsible legally for carrying out maintenance to closed churchyards) may be prepared to make an annual grant towards the upkeep of open churchyards and, given sufficient prior warning for budgeting purposes, may be able to provide a grant for maintenance of the church building itself.
Diocesan Grants
Most dioceses can give modest grants and/or interest-free loans for the repair of their churches. Several have savings schemes to which you may contribute and from whose funds you may borrow. Application should be made to the Secretary of the Diocesan Board of Finance or the Church Buildings Committee at the Diocesan Office. (Details of these funds are generally published in the Diocesan Handbook). The Diocesan Office may also be able to provide information regarding any local charitable funds.
Grant-giving Trusts for Fabric Repair
The following organisations give grants towards general fabric repairs. Some of them exclude decoration, lighting/heating, improvements and other work that is not seen as essential maintenance of the fabric.
County Historic Churches Trusts
The County Historic Churches Trusts are all independent charities raising money and helping repair churches and chapels within their own boundaries. There are now thirty-three County Churches Trusts that give grants to places of worship of all denominations in their own county. (Some also give grants for the conservation of fittings and furnishings.) A list of contact details is available on the website of the National Churches Trust (formerly the HCPT). You should, of course, only apply to the county trust relevant to your area as a county trust cannot offer grants outside its own boundaries.
As well as fund-raising, County Trusts aim to make people more aware of their County's heritage of fine churches. They are also a source of advice and encouragement to hard-pressed parishes.
The Garfield Weston Foundation
Weston Centre
10 Grosvenor Street
London
W1K 4QY
Tel 020 7399 6565
Fax 020 7399 6580
The Garfield Weston Foundation is a general grant-giving charity, which also gives grants to churches for fabric repairs.
The Incorporated Church Building Society (ICBS)
The ICBS is now administered by the National Churches Trust (formerly HCPT) and can be contacted at the same address and telephone number (see above). The ICBS gives grants to Anglican churches only. Conditions are similar to the HCPT, except that ICBS can also assist churches in Wales and churches less than 100 years old.
The Lankelly Chase Foundation
1 The Court
High Street
Harwell
Didcot OX11 OEY
Tel & Fax 01235 820044
www.lankellychase.org.uk
The Chase Charity makes a dozen or so grants to ancient churches each year, concentrating on the repair of rural parish churches. The trustees say that they are more likely to be sympathetic to unforeseen crises, rather than to general repair appeals. The building must be Grade I listed, in a village of under 1,000 people and the local community must support the appeal. Grants range in size from £1,000 to £3,000.
The National Churches Trust (formerly the Historic Churches Preservation Trust)
31 Newbury Street,
London EC1A 7HU
Tel 020 7600 6090
Fax 020 7796 2442
Email info@historicchurches.org.uk
www.historicchurches.org.uk
Churches must be over 100 years old to qualify for grant-aid. All projects must be overseen by an architect who is either ARB, RIBA or AABC accredited, or by a chartered surveyor who is RICS accredited and the work must cost more than £4,000 before VAT and fees.
Where a church is in principle eligible for English Heritage or Heritage Lottery Fund grant-aid, the Trust will expect an application to have been made, and will want to know the outcome. Only repairs to the fabric will be considered.
The Diocesan Advisory Committee will be asked for its comments by the Trust. Grants are not made for work that has been started or has already been completed.
The Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts
Allington House (First Floor)
150 Victoria Street
London SW1E 5AE
Tel 020 7410 0330
Fax 020 7410 0332
There are a number of Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts, several of which, particularly the Monument Trust, grant-aid church repair work. One letter (about two sides of A4) to the address above will ensure that an appeal is considered by whichever of the trusts is the most appropriate.
March 2003, December 2007 & June 2008
