Medieval wall paintings almost lost forever

St Hubert’s has outlasted Idsworth, the village it used to serve. If you visit the Grade I Listed church today, you will find no trace of the settlement, which was thought to have been established in the 9th century. It was abandoned during the 14th century – most likely due to the Black Death.  

500 years of human habitation gone without a trace. But the church endured.

The small much-loved Hampshire church survived the plague, but just recently, its future started to look more uncertain.

The gutters and downpipes at the church required urgent attention. Instead of directing water away from the building, rain was cascading down the exterior walls and pooling underneath. Water started slowly seeping inside. And damp put their nationally significant wall paintings inside at risk. These wall paintings, a national treasure, date back to 1330, and include a depiction of Salome with the head of St John the Baptist.

Church repairs fall onto the shoulders of local people to fundraise for. There is no consistent form of funding available from the UK Government to fix these buildings – even though they are of huge historical significance. A vital link to our past, yet still relevant today as places of worship, tourist destinations and spaces where communities can come together, for support and connection.

Thankfully, help was on hand for St Hubert’s. The National Churches Trust was able to award the church £16,000 for urgent repairs, to keep this building open and in use. 

How our grants help churches to stay open

The grants to St Hubert’s included an £8,000 Wolfson Fabric Repairs Grant from the Wolfson Foundation. The National Churches Trust awards grants on behalf of many other trusted organisations – this means that when churches apply to us, we can often support them with additional grants too – yet the church only needs to make one application, saving their volunteer’s time and energy.

“I will always remember the day when we were awarded the grants from National Churches Trust and the Wolfson Foundation because, added to the funding that we had already secured, they enabled us to afford this fundamentally important work,” says John Bannell, Churchwarden and Buildings Officer at St Hubert’s.

The gutters and drainpipes have been fixed at this historic church – ensuring that the building is watertight once more. New cast iron drainpipes and gutters have been fitted, have massively improved the drainage.

“We could not be more pleased with the outcome. There has been a very noticeable improvement in the condition of the building already,” shared Revd Joy Windsor, Priest-in-Charge.

The grants have given the church a new lease of life. St Hubert’s has now launched a new and exciting digital approach to telling the story of its heritage for all its many visitors to appreciate and enjoy. All possible, thanks to the church building being protected. 

I want to help keep churches open 

Churches need us  

Together we saved 93,500 years of church history in 2024 by giving out 314 grants to churches in need. But there are thousands of churches still at risk.  

From April 2025 churches across the UK have been devastated by the UK Government’s new cap on the amount of VAT that they can reclaim. Before this change, listed churches could claim back all their VAT costs on urgent repair projects, like fixing crumbling towers or leaking roofs. They can now only claim back £25,000 a year.

This is a pitiful amount relative to the tax bills they may incur, which could be hundreds of thousands or even millions of pounds. All to keep their church open.

The National Churches Trust is doing all we can to help churches. But with so many churches needing repairs, we need your help.  

Will you donate today to save a church?