Thanks to funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, we have a dedicated support officer, based in North West England, who is on hand to help you with advice and training. You can email Matthew at: Matthew.Maries@nationalchurchestrust.org
“Hello, I’m an archaeologist with a master's degree in the Conservation of Historic Buildings and experience working in the construction industry, museums, and planning. I’m excited to get out into Cumbria, Lancashire, and Greater Manchester to visit the amazing places of worship and meet the wonderful people keeping them alive. I look forward to working together with you to ensure these brilliant, historic spaces stay at the heart of their communities now and in the future.”
Whether you are looking to repair your roof, install a kitchen or accessible toilets, clear asbestos or simply need help undertaking regular essential maintenance to your building, we offer a range of grants to suit the size and needs of your project. We also have a special Cherish grant – created especially to help places of worship in North West England.
From how to develop and manage a church building project, to keeping your church in good condition by regular maintenance, you can find out about the key things you need to do to look after your church building.
Many churches, chapels and meeting houses were built to be at the heart of their communities; to be busy and used by all. There are many ways to ensure that this is still the case. Discover how to create the perfect welcome, tell your story and more.
We run regular events throughout the year, to help your place of worship.
Understanding the significance of your church building is a vital foundation for any successful project. This session, from 2-3pm on Tuesday 16 June, introduces Statements of Significance and explains how they help guide change, support good decision-making, and strengthen conversations with funders, advisers and consent bodies.
Walking and pilgrimage offer powerful ways to connect people with place, heritage and each other. Join us from 2pm on Tuesday 30 June for this session, which explores how walks, trails and pilgrimage-style activities can be used as tools for community engagement, wellbeing and storytelling.
Join us from 2pm on Thursday 16 July 2026. This session will explore ways of diversifying income sources whilst supporting the needs of communities. In a highly competitive funding environment, we cannot always solely rely on grants and donations. How can we make the most of the opportunities that could be there and do we see them? Join us to find out.
The Volunteer Mentoring Pilot Scheme helps connect people who have a story to share with those in need of support. We're looking for both mentors and mentees. Find out more and sign up today.
Cherish is helping us to target support at key areas where we are at great risk of losing priceless heritage.
We all hear about a church being open, but what does it really mean? Who gets to come into the building and when? And what for? St Stephen on the Cliffs church in Blackpool shares with us why their building being open is a vital part of the life of the church – even in the midst of a large building project.
