How did we keep another 80 churches, chapels and meeting houses open and in use?

We’re here to help churches stay open and in use – that’s what we do. Thanks to our Friends, donors, and partner organisations together we have helped keep the doors open at over 80 churches, chapels and meeting houses with our latest round of grants. That is almost £1 million given to local places of worship through grants that are designed to protect important heritage, repair urgent issues and help the church better serve the needs of their community. 

Here are some of the brilliant things that your generosity is enabling: 

• Fixing a rotting tower so that the bells can ring out again at a South Wales church
• Helping an 800+ year old church in Barnsley get a permanent roof 15 years after a devastating lead theft
• Stopping a chancel roof from collapsing in a 1000+ year old church
• Supporting the only Quaker Meeting House in Coventry to make their building more accessible
• Helping to fix the leaking roof at a striking Brutalist church in East Renfrewshire
• Supporting the repairs to a listed chapel that a new church congregation is taking on in West Yorkshire
• Repointing a Gothic church in County Tyrone, so that it can be dried out properly for the first time in many years. 

Together we can do more 

Supporting these churches would not have been possible without the generous support of our Friends, those who leave a legacy to the National Churches Trust, and our donors. So, thank you.

We also partner with other Trusts and Foundations, like the Wolfson Foundation, The National Lottery Heritage Fund and the Pilgrim Trust, and award funding on their behalf to churches in need. These crucial partnerships enable even more churches to be helped to stay open and in good repair.

“Churches have a crucial role as places of worship – but they also serve as integral parts of our communities, and not least as custodians of heritage,” shares Paul Ramsbottom, Chief Executive of the Wolfson Foundation, who we partner with to award Wolfson Fabric Repair Grants of up to £10,000 to listed churches that need urgent repairs.    

“We are pleased to continue our partnership with the National Churches Trust to help safeguard these important, beautiful buildings for future generations."

Churches need our help so we're not going anywhere

The burden of caring for churches, chapels and meeting houses in the UK falls onto the shoulders of local people. While we are pleased to be able to support so many churches across the country through our grant programmes, the wider funding landscape for churches is dire. The cost-of-living crisis is taking a toll and inflation continues to drive up building materials and project costs. Fewer churches are coming off Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register. The UK Government has also significantly reduced its only consistent form of funding for churches through its wide-reaching changes to the Listed Places of Worship Grants Scheme.  

The Scheme allows listed churches, chapels, meeting houses and cathedrals to reclaim VAT on urgent repair projects. It has helped 13,000 places of worship since it was introduced in 2001. But the Government has only decided to renew the scheme until March 2026 and has introduced a cap – meaning churches can only claim up to £25,000 back on their repair bill – even if the VAT bill is higher.  

This is leaving a huge shortfall; churches are now having to fundraise even more just to pay tax. They’re delaying making urgent repairs as they do not know what support will be available after March 2026. It is having a devastating impact on churches in every part of the country.  

The National Churches Trust is doing all we can to urge the Government to make the scheme permanent and to remove the cap. We also want to make the scheme open to unlisted churches too – many of which are also of huge local heritage and community value; if they were to close the impact would be huge.

“The stories on this page show just a snapshot of what is possible when we work together,” explains Claire Walker, Chief Executive of the National Churches Trust.  

“But the reality is that churches across the country need more support – this model of local people paying for repairs and now additional tax too is not sustainable. More historic churches will fall into disrepair and eventually close if action is not taken. We need the UK Government to work with the heritage sector and Christian denominations to come up with a national plan that will see these important buildings properly funded, so that they can remain open and in use for generations to come.” 

Explore every grant

Our grant programmes support churches, chapels and meeting houses of every Christian Denomination and in every corner of the UK, as well as listed and unlisted buildings. Click on the map if you would like to find out more information about a grant that has been awarded and how this will help the church.