Religion – £2,580,000 distributed in 389 grants
Religion again accounts for the largest number of grants, the majority being for £10,000 or less for fabric repairs and re-ordering. The exceptions are cathedrals and some important churches with major capital appeals towards which the Trustees provided more significant support.
Ely Cathedral received the largest grant, £250,000. As with most ancient heritage buildings urgent fabric repairs were required, and they also aim to build an endowment fund to support the Choir. The Trustees helped to provide music scholarships.
Grants of £100,000 were provided to the Cathedrals of Hereford, Bristol and Rochester and £50,000 to the Selby Abbey Appeal, all for capital requirements. Selby Abbey has received previous support from the Foundation as the Trustees note the ongoing challenge to repair and restore the stonework, much of which has been affected by pollution. The Abbey is the largest parish church in England, founded by William the Conqueror in the 11th century, and is one of the few great monastic churches to survive the Dissolution of the Monasteries.
£50,000 was donated each to St James’s Church on Piccadilly, Worcester Cathedral, Clonard Monastery in Belfast, Llandaff Cathedral in Cardiff and Wells Cathedral. The latter topped up an earlier substantial grant towards a £6 million appeal to open up and restore the medieval spaces, including the Undercroft which was previously not accessible to the public. The appeal aims to improve access throughout, provide purpose-built facilities for the music, a dedicated education space and an interactive interpretation centre.
The challenges facing St Pancras Parish Church are typical of many churches throughout the UK and illustrate the commitment of local communities to raise the funding they need to carry out their ministries. In addition to normal Sunday and weekday services Saint Pancras provides advice and support and runs projects for both the elderly and the young. In addition there are regular recitals, lectures, discussion groups and social welfare activities. The Trustees recognise that this level of community activity can put strain on the facilities so a grant of £25,000 was provided towards improved access, toilets, kitchen facilities and meeting space.
Another typical example is the case of St Mary’s Church in Chiddingfold, where the cramped Grade I listed building struggles to meet the growing needs of the community, particularly the expanding Sunday School and youth groups. A new church room, specifically designed to minimise the visual impact on the ancient church, is planned to solve these problems and the Trustees provided a grant of £5,000 in support of this.
