Sussex Historic Churches Trust
Grants
How Grants are Awarded
All denominations and groups are welcome to apply for grants.
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Once your application and supporting documents have been received, your application will be considered at the next Trust meeting. This year’s Trust meetings are April 7, 2025 and September 12, 2025; the application deadline is two weeks before each meeting. Urgent applications will be considered by the Trustees between meetings.
How to Apply for a Grant
We welcome grant applications from churches and places of worship across Sussex. To get started, please read our grant application guidance notes carefully and then complete our online Grant Application form. ​
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What do we fund?
The Trust’s governing documents state that income generated by the Trust will be used to support places of worship, of all denominations, with work including:
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Preservation
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Repair
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Maintenance
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Improvement
How do the Trustees assess grant applications?
The Trust favours making a significant number of relatively small grants contributing towards projects rather than a few large grants. The current policy of the Trustees is to confine grants to works of essential repair to the fabric of church buildings. Priority is given to buildings over 100 years old and emphasis is given to maintaining the structure of the building and ensuring it is wind and waterproof. Church halls, parish rooms and churchyards are not eligible for support. (Please refer to the Guidance Notes for more details)
Places of worship eligibility
We wish to support a wide range of Sussex places of worship and religious bodies.
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Churches, including a cathedral, abbey, minster or priory church
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Chapels
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Other buildings used for public worship in Sussex whether belonging to or used by the Church of England or any other religious body
Latest grant awards
Grants made in April 2025 amounted to £46,000.
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Forest Row Holy Trinity: replacement of guttering and downpipes; £10,000
South Stoke St Leonard: re-tiling entire roof; £6,000
St Leonards Christ Church: restoration of clock mechanism; £5,000
Steyning St Andrew: work to tower; £12,000
Winchelsea St Thomas: window repairs; £3,000
Wisborough Green, Zoar Chapel: general works of rehabilitation; £10,000
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The Trust made grants to four churches in September 2024 amounting to more than £45K. The grants included the biggest single grant in the Trust's history - £18,000 to St Mary's Pulborough for urgent work to the church tower.
All grants made in September 2024:
Pulborough St Mary: urgent work to the church tower: £18,000
Brighton St Peter: work on the church tower: £10,000
Aldrington St Leonard: steeple ladder: £5,000
Hastings All Saints: south porch roof and gutters: £12,000
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All grants made in April 2024:
Danehill All Saints : £11,000
Brighton St Bartholomew: £4,000
Graffham St Giles: £5,000
Hartfield St Mary: £7,000
Sompting St Mary: £5,000
Westbourne St John the Baptist: £8,000
Crowborough St John the Evangelist: £5,000
Blacklands Hastings Christ Church: £5,000
Jarvis Brook St Michael and All Angels: £1,000
All grants made in 2023:
Arlington St Pancras: £7,000
Easebourne : £12,000
Etchingham : £10,000
Fairlight : £3,000
Scaynes Hill : £7,000
Shoreham St Nicolas: £1,000 (supplementary)
Eastbourne All Souls: £8,000
Icklesham All Saints and St Nicholas: £11,000
Madehurst St Mary Magdalene: £5,000
Stopham St Mary the Virgin: £2,000
Winchelsea St Thomas the Martyr: £6,000
All grants made in 2022:
Brighton St Matthias: £5,000
Old Shoreham St Nicolas: £4,000
Lewes Quaker Meeting: £2,000
Burgess Hill St John: £4,000
Egdean St Bartholomew: £5,000
Fletching St Andrew and St Mary: £10,000
Balcombe St Mary: £10,000
Litlington St Michael: £6,500
St Leonards St Matthew: £5,000
Tarring Neville St Mary: £3,500
All grants made in 2021:
Hove St John’s: £3,000
Kemp Town St Mary: £6,000
Fairwarp Christ Church: £3,000
Hastings St Clement: £10,000
Terwick St Peter: £3,000
St Luke’s, Stone Cross: £2,000
St Andrew’s, Alfriston : £4,000
St Leonard’s-on-Sea, St Leonard: £2,000
Fernhurst St Margaret of Antioch: £3,000
Chichester, St Paul: £3,000
Eastbourne, All Souls: £3,000
Folkington, St Peter: £3,000
For the latest news on awarded grants, click here.