Grants for conservation of historic items and works of art in parish churches more than doubled in 2025 to nearly £600,000, with a record number of grants awarded by the Church of England.
Books from a library where Isaac Newton is thought to have studied, one of the oldest clocks in the country, medieval wall paintings, and even a medieval door are among hundreds of historic features in parish churches – from candlesticks to a Saxon coffin - to receive conservation funding last year.
Grants worth a total of £578,931 were awarded in 2025 by the Church of England’s national conservation team, up 120 per cent on the £260,000 distributed the year before. The number of grants awarded rose from 124 to 190, in 37 dioceses, compared to 33 the year before.
The big increase comes after the National Lottery Heritage Fund announced a £4.69 million award in 2025 for the Church of England’s conservation grants scheme, to run over the next five years. The scheme also continued to receive support from The Pilgrim Trust, The Radcliffe Trust, the Anglican Parish Churches Fund, The Oswald Allen Fund, and the Church of England Net Zero Fund.
A £4,000 grant was awarded towards the conservation of a painting of the crucifixion, in St Giles with St Peter in Cambridge, in the Diocese of Ely.
St Wulfram’s Church in Grantham, in the Diocese of Lincoln, received a £16,000 grant from the Oswald Allen bequest for conservation of six 16th century books in a library at the church – the Francis Trigge Chained Library - believed to be the oldest surviving public library in England.
The library was set up in 1598 with a donation of £100 – thought to be around £20,000 in modern value – from a local clergyman, Francis Trigge, to buy books with the aim of promoting study of divinity and other liberal sciences. The collection of more than 250 books, which was chained to prevent loan or theft, includes not only religious texts but law books, histories, medical books and books on natural sciences, with the oldest printed in Venice in 1472, four years before Caxton introduced printing into England. One of the books to be conserved is Sermons upon the booke of Job, a rare English translation of sermons by the key Reformation figure John Calvin.
It is thought that Isaac Newton, who was a pupil at the next door grammar school, studied in the library, as the Master of the school was one of the key holders to the library.
Emily Gee, the Church of England’s Director for Cathedrals and Church Buildings, said: “We are delighted by the increase in the number of parish churches that we can support as they conserve precious historic features of such importance to worship, artistic appreciation and local and national heritage.
“I am particularly pleased to see the flourishing collaborative projects nurturing the skills and specialist expertise that is so vital to sustaining our church heritage into the future. We are indebted to The National Lottery Heritage Fund for supporting this crucial conservation work and continue to express our gratitude to funders who have supported us over so many years – The Pilgrim Trust, The Radcliffe Trust, the Anglican Parish Churches Fund and The Oswald Allen Fund.”
Eilish McGuinness, Chief Executive of The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “Places of worship are among our most treasured heritage, at the heart of communities and caring for irreplaceable historic objects and works of art and nature. Yet they face increasing pressures, which is why partnership working and strategic investment are so important.
“Through our initiative for places of worship, we have been encouraging and supporting the sector to explore partnerships, innovative ways of working and strategic interventions to proactively address those challenges.
“The Church of England’s conservation grants scheme was one of the first we invested in through that initiative and we’re delighted to see the impact this approach can have - helping to safeguard collections, build vital conservation skills, and ensure these special places are valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future.”