THE Church of England distributed £260,000 in 2024 to help to protect and conserve the art, historic artefacts, and heritage assets held in its churches.
The 124 projects in 33 dioceses receiving funds related to historic works of art, stained-glass windows, church bells, medieval graffiti, and an 18th-century Bible famous for its misprints.
The conservation grants programme is administered by the Church of England’s Cathedral and Church Buildings Department, from funds provided by the Pilgrim Trust, the Radcliffe Trust, the Anglican Parish Churches Fund, the Oswald Allen Fund, the Gunnis Fund, and the Church of England Net Zero Fund.
One such grant, to All Saints’, Slingsby, in the diocese of York, paid for the refurbishment of its 19th-century clock. The clock was made in 1838 by James Harrison, a great-great-nephew of John “Longitude” Harrison, whose clocks revolutionised navigation at sea.
Kate Giles, the secretary of All Saints’ PCC, said: “When the clock stopped temporarily, I received lots of messages from our local community asking what was happening, and saying that it was part of their soundscape — and they missed it.
“Many of the people who sign Slingsby’s visitors’ book describe its steady ticking as the ‘heartbeat’ of the church and of the village. We are so grateful for this grant, which will help us to ensure Slingsby’s clock keeps time for generations to come.”
Church of EnglandSt Peter and St Paul, Wingrave, was received a Pilgrim Trust-supported grant for a conservation report on medieval graffiti on one of the church’s pillars
St Martin’s, Epsom, in the diocese of Guildford, was awarded a grant from the Oswald Allen Bequest to help the conservation of a copy of the so-called “Vinegar Bible” printed in the 18th century. It was famous for its misprints, including the “Parable of the Vineyard”, which appeared as the “Parable of the Vinegar”.
In Buckinghamshire, St Peter and St Paul, Wingrave, was awarded a Pilgrim Trust-supported grant for a conservation report on medieval graffiti on one of its pillars.
The Archbishops’ Council’s director for cathedrals and church buildings, Emily Gee, said that the funding pot would grow this year to £4.68 million, with the backing of the National Lottery Heritage Fund. “I am hugely grateful to our funders, who do so much to help enable this crucial conservation work, and thrilled that the Church of England’s conservation grants scheme is being expanded this year, to help even more churches with their projects, as a result of the brilliant support of the National Lottery Heritage Fund,” she said.
“Every precious item or monument detailed in this report is cared for by volunteers and supporters who give their time and expertise so generously to preserving the special heritage of Church of England churches. I would like to express our immense gratitude to them for their dedication to such an important shared heritage.”
The newly expanded scheme, which will be administered over the next five years, will also make grants to parish churches towards building repairs that are linked to conservation of heritage assets such as mending a leaky roof, or guttering, if water damage is affecting artwork inside.
