We want to support you to keep your church, chapel or meeting house open, well maintained and in use. On this page you’ll find links to resources and training to help you do this.
Thanks to funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, we have a dedicated support officer, based in North West England, who is on hand to help you with advice and training. You can email Matthew at: Matthew.Maries@nationalchurchestrust.org
“Hello, I’m an archaeologist with a master's degree in the Conservation of Historic Buildings and experience working in the construction industry, museums, and planning. I’m excited to get out into Cumbria, Lancashire, and Greater Manchester to visit the amazing places of worship and meet the wonderful people keeping them alive. I look forward to working together with you to ensure these brilliant, historic spaces stay at the heart of their communities now and in the future.”
This community brings together people who volunteer, work for or care for churches, chapels or meeting houses in Cumbria, Lancashire and Greater Manchester and people and organisations who want to support these places of worship to stay in good repair and in use. If this is you, we would love you to join and to help you to keep these buildings well maintained and open for all.
Whether you are looking to repair your roof, install a kitchen or accessible toilets, clear asbestos or simply need help undertaking regular essential maintenance to your building, we offer a range of grants to suit the size and needs of your project. We also have a special Cherish grant – created especially to help places of worship in North West England.
From how to develop and manage a church building project, to keeping your church in good condition by regular maintenance, you can find out about the key things you need to do to look after your church building.
Many churches, chapels and meeting houses were built to be at the heart of their communities; to be busy and used by all. There are many ways to ensure that this is still the case. Discover how to create the perfect welcome, tell your story and more.
We run regular events throughout the year, to help your place of worship.
Join us from 2pm on Tuesday 20 January 2026. Many churches rent out their church hall or church building for events, community activities and for local businesses to use. This can generate income for facility upkeep or community support. In this helpful, informal session, Hallmaster UK will share their experience of working with churches, chapels and meeting houses across the country. They will share some best practice and introduce the Hallmaster system.
Join us from 2pm on Tuesday 27 January 2026 to discover the many ways in which your place of worship can benefit from tourism, from increasing visitors and raising funds to recruiting volunteers and staging events. This is the ideal session for anyone involved with churches and chapels wanting to learn more about church tourism or where to start ... just before the visiting season 2026 kicks off!
Join us from 2pm on Tuesday 24 February 2026. This will be a short session to share some of the heritage events your church, chapel or meeting house could be part of this year. By joining established national or regional programmes, churches can tap into an existing audience, benefit from coordinated marketing, and attract visitors who may never have considered stepping inside.
Cherish includes training, support, advice and funding for places of worship in Scotland, Wales and North West England (Cumbria, Lancashire and Greater Manchester).
Cherish is helping us to target support at key areas where we are at great risk of losing priceless heritage.
We all hear about a church being open, but what does it really mean? Who gets to come into the building and when? And what for? St Stephen on the Cliffs church in Blackpool shares with us why their building being open is a vital part of the life of the church – even in the midst of a large building project.
