Interior of St George's Church Jesmond

St George's Church, Jesmond, will use its grant to fund the restoration of two rare T C Lewis pipe organs

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£1.25m National Lottery boost for historic churches

The new investment from the National Lottery puts volunteers and communities at the heart of futures of historic churches.

Ruth Hogarth
5 min read

The National Lottery Heritage Fund has announced £1.25m of funding for eight places of worship to develop their plans for the future, all of which have communities at their heart.

In Renfrewshire, Lochwinnoch Community Development Trust (LCDT) has been awarded support for its plans to purchase Category A listed Lochwinnoch Church from the Church of Scotland and transform it into a multi-use community hub.

A development grant award of just under £200k (with a potential delivery grant of £1,908,132) is a major milestone in LDCT’s plans to give the historic former place of worship a new lease of life as a much-needed space for the community and a link to 200 years of village history and the story of the people who live there.

Chair Diarmid Harris, said: “Lochwinnoch Community Development Trust is delighted to have been awarded funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

“The grant will fund the development phase of the restoration of our beloved parish church which we hope will realise our ambition to reinstate our kirk at the heart of our community.”

In Helmsley, in the North York Moors National Park, plans for urgent conservation of Grade II* listed All Saints Church and its unique Edwardian wall paintings, have also reached a key milestone.

Described as a place of “friendship and support” by the local community, the church has been awarded just over £138k (plus a potential delivery grant of £1,527,355) to develop its plans to deliver a programme of traditional skills development and a safe and sustainable future for the historic building and the heritage it holds.

Richard Hiscocks, member of All Saints Parochial Church Council said: “We are thrilled by the award from the National Lottery Heritage Fund that will allow us to create a detailed plan to restore and preserve our amazing but fragile heritage and to help develop traditional skills locally, and extremely grateful to everyone that supports the National Lottery.”

Other funded projects

The other places of worship to receive funding are:

  • Greek Orthodox Church of St Basil & St Paisios, Lincoln – to undertake urgent surveys to understand the ongoing needs of the Grade II listed building (£51,763).
  • St George the Martyr Parish Church, Holborn – to secure the future of the Grade II* listed church by addressing the critical needs of the building, enabling the church to thrive as a centre for its local community and visitors (£380,389 development grant with a potential delivery grant of £3,518,036).
  • Holt Methodist Church, Holt – to restore the Grade II listed building and transform it for community and cultural use (£47,018 development grant with a potential delivery grant of £475,826).
  • St John the Baptist Church, Nash – to undertake urgent repairs, remove the church from Historic England’s At Risk register and enable the community to connect with its natural and social heritage (£30,804 development grant with a potential delivery grant of £495,533).
  • Jesmond United Reformed Church and St George’s Church, Jesmond – for the Discover Jesmond 1888 project to save two rare T C Lewis pipe organs and create a heritage trail and events programme to connect the two churches and engage the community in their shared heritage (£163,600).
  • St Martin’s Church, Bulmer – to work towards a sustainable future by conserving its 14th-century tower and improving thermal efficiency and open up the church to more people by strengthening community links and enhancing access and participation (£248,504).

Part of 10-year strategy: Heritage 2033

Since 1994, the National Lottery Heritage Fund has awarded over £1bn to more than 8,200 places of worship projects, enabling vital restoration and conservation of some of the UK’s oldest and most cherished buildings, including facilitating the removal of many from the UK’s At Risk registers.

In September this year, the Heritage Fund announced a three-year initiative for places of worship, to be delivered as part of the Heritage Fund’s ten-year strategy, Heritage 2033.

These latest projects will be backed by an additional funding pot of at least £15m and is open for applications. And further £85m is expected to be awarded through the National Lottery Grants for Heritage grants programme over the next three years.

Eilish McGuinness, chief executive of the National Lottery Heritage Fund, said:
“Places of worship are some of the UK’s most cherished historic buildings and many play a key role as a gateway to our heritage and communities.

“Thanks to money raised by National Lottery players, these eight fantastic projects will take vital steps towards securing a brighter and more sustainable future for places of worship and reimagine how they can connect with and benefit their communities.

“This year the Heritage Fund marked 30 years of National Lottery funding. This announcement is a fantastic way to end what has been an incredible year of celebration.”