Diocese of Chichester, Church Buildings

03/03/2026

Huge congratulations to St Nicholas Arundel in the Diocese of Chichester who have been awarded a £250,000 grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund for vital repairs to the south aisle roof and the expansion of their community outreach programme, sharing the heritage of this very special Grade I listed church with local primary schools and the community. The hope is to get the church off the Heritage at Risk Register in time for the church’s 650th anniversary in 2030. The church is open every day and visitors are always welcome but there will be a special programme of free heritage talks and activities for the National Lottery Open Week on 7-9 and 12-14 March - please see here for details:

What you will see: St Nicholas’ Church is an extraordinary medieval treasure and a living place of Christian worship. Built between 1380 and the very early 1400s, it is the largest medieval church in West Sussex, and the history of…

04/02/2026

Congratulations to all at St Peter and St Paul, Wadhurst - really exciting to see the project in progress!

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26/01/2026

The Government announced on 22 January that the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme (which refunds VAT spent on works to listed church buildings) will close on 31st March 2026. We would encourage any parishes with eligible invoices to submit a claim as soon as possible, as the funding may run out before the end of March. Please see here for a tracker which shows how much funding remains in the pot and how many claims are in progress:
https://listed-places-of-worship-grant.dcms.gov.uk/

At the same time, the Government also announced that a new grant scheme, called the Places of Worship Renewal Fund, will give out up to £92 million over the next five years. The implication of this announcement is that parishes will have to pay VAT on all repairs to listed churches but could apply for a grant from the new Places of Worship Renewal fund, which is expected to involve a competitive application process. We will hopefully be able to share more information about the new fund and how parishes can apply in due course. There is some helpful analysis from the National Churches Trust about how this will affect our churches here: https://www.nationalchurchestrust.org/impact/campaigns/save-listed-places-worship-grants-scheme

The Listed Places of Worship Grants Scheme is a lifeline for churches. The Government must urgently make this scheme permanent and remove the devastating cap.

25/06/2025

Fantastic to see that the new Sussex Historic Churches Trust website has been launched, including pages on applying for grants and information about Ride and Stride, which will take place on Saturday 13 September this year. Please do check out the new website and start making preparations for your church to participate in Ride and Stride!

26/09/2024

Lovely to be at St Mary’s, Battle last night for a Church Buildings Update Evening. Thanks to Jonathan Cerowski for a really interesting talk on the Bats in Church project at West Grinstead and everyone who battled through some horrible weather and road closures to attend

19/09/2024

Great news for parishes!

13/09/2024

The future of the Listed Places of Worship grant scheme, which allows parishes to apply for a refund of VAT spent on repairs to listed churches, is currently under consideration. If your parish has benefitted from an LPOW grant, please consider emailing the Secretary of State ([email protected]) in the next few days to explain the difference that it’s made for your church and to ask the government to extend the scheme beyond March 2025

13/09/2024

It’s looking like perfect weather for Ride and Stride tomorrow and there’s still time to sign up to participate!

The Sussex Historic Churches Trust’s Ride and Stride event will take place on Saturday 14th September. This annnual event provides an opportunity for people to get out and about and explore churches whilst also raising money for their own church and for the Sussex Historic Churches Trust, which gives out grants towards the cost of repairing historic churches. Please do make sure that your churches are open on 14th September and please encourage walkers and cyclists from your church to get involved! All of the info is here on the SCHT website: https://www.sussexhistoricchurchestrust.org.uk/sussex_ride_and_stride.html

03/09/2024

The Sussex Historic Churches Trust’s Ride and Stride event will take place on Saturday 14th September. This annnual event provides an opportunity for people to get out and about and explore churches whilst also raising money for their own church and for the Sussex Historic Churches Trust, which gives out grants towards the cost of repairing historic churches. Please do make sure that your churches are open on 14th September and please encourage walkers and cyclists from your church to get involved! All of the info is here on the SCHT website: https://www.sussexhistoricchurchestrust.org.uk/sussex_ride_and_stride.html

23/07/2023

Lovely service at St Anne’s Church in Lewes this morning to celebrate the completion of their fantastic new extension!

05/07/2023

Is your lychgate a war memorial and is it need of some TLC?

The War Memorials Grant Scheme is open to applications for the repair and conservation of free-standing war memorials. Grants of up to £20,000 are available to support the care and preservation of war memorials to a high standard, and to prevent the decay of this important part of the nation's built heritage. Grants will normally be for up to a maximum of 75% of eligible costs.

Applications to the War Memorials Trust close on 31 October 2023.

War Memorials Trust grants schemes are introduced on this page. You will find information regarding grant schemes, their eligibility criteria, closing dates for application and how to apply.