CCT gets £1.6m boost from Culture Recovery Fund

The Churches Conservation Trust is among 142 historic sites across England are receiving grants worth £35 million through the government’s Culture Recovery Fund. This award has already funded repairs at 26 of CCTs churches across England. This second round of £1.6m of funding will make grants available to a further 13 churches across the country

Administered on behalf of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) by Historic England, 142 sites are receiving support from the second round of the Heritage Stimulus Fund, bolstering local economies and supporting jobs across the country.

CCT is the national charity protecting historic churches at risk and cares for 356 grade I and grade II* churches across England. The charity has been hit hard by the pandemic and now faces a shortfall of over £500,000 due to Covid19. The grant funding requires 20% match funding to fully pay for the much-needed works.

Find out more about how to help to support the work here.

Money from the government’s £2 billion Culture Recovery Fund is intended to open up heritage and the benefits it brings to everyone, helping to level up and improve life and opportunities for people in places that need it most.

Many of the organisations and sites receiving funding enhance wellbeing and community connection, offering education, development opportunities and jobs in some of the most deprived communities hit hard by the impact of the pandemic. 

Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries said: 

"From local churches to ancient buildings and landscapes, the UK's unique heritage makes our towns, cities and villages stronger, more vibrant and helps bring communities together. 

"This latest funding - £35 million from our unprecedented Culture Recovery Fund - will help protect sites including Jane Austen's House and Hampton Court Palace for future generations and help them build back better from the pandemic."

Duncan Wilson, Historic England’s Chief Executive, said:

“Funding from the government’s Culture Recovery Fund is hugely welcome at a time when the people and organisations who look after our vast and varied array of heritage urgently need support to carry out essential repairs. Heritage is a fragile eco-system, with an amazing cast of characters who keep our historic places alive, with specialist skills that take time to learn and experience to perfect. These grants will protect their livelihoods, as they use their expertise to help our heritage survive.”

Money from the Heritage Stimulus Fund will also keep our nationally and internationally significant heritage assets in good condition and sustain the skilled craft workforce that looks after them.

The latest £35 million funding awards builds on £52 million already allocated from the first round of the Heritage Stimulus Fund, which has supported works at 800 of the country’s treasured heritage assets. This includes Blackpool’s iconic Tower Ballroom, the stunning Georgian landscape at Gibside in Gateshead and the tranquil Thornton-le-Beans Chapel in North Yorkshire.

None of these historic places would have been able to carry out crucial repair work during the pandemic without this support.