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One of the longest-serving Ride+ Stride organisers in Sussex is finally passing on the baton after helping to raise funds for St Mary's Storrington and the Sussex Historic Churches Trust for over 20 years. Sheila Ward has been a driving force in helping St Mary's and its legion of sponsored Ride + Stride participants to raise funds for the ancient church. In the last five years alone, St Mary's Ride + Stride participants have raised more than £4,500. St Mary's dates back well over 1,000 years and was recorded in the Domesday Book. During the church service on Sunday (August 23), the congregation gave thanks to Sheila for her years of hard work and prayed for her colleague Robin Lenarth who will be looking after the Ride + Stride event going forward. Ride + Stride is an annual event that that raises more than £1.5 million for churches right across the UK. This year's event is taking place on Saturday, September 12. Ride + Stride is a lot of fun, giving everyone the chance to explore some of Sussex's unique historic buildings while also raising vital funds. The event is open to all - you don't need to be a churchgoer or affiliated with any particular place of worship. Trust chairman Chris Whittick said: "On behalf of the Trustees, I'd like to thank Sheila most sincerely for her devoted attention to Ride + Stride over more than two decades, and to welcome Robin to the role. We realise that the success of Ride and Stride depends entirely on scores of people such as Sheila and Robin across the whole of Sussex, and reassure them all that their efforts are noticed and their dedication acknowledged by us all." About Ride + Stride Ride + Stride is by far the biggest fundraiser of the year for the Trust and plays a vital role in enabling the Trust to award grants to churches throughout East and West Sussex. All money raised during Ride + Stride is split 50:50 between the church chosen by each participant and the Sussex Historic Churches Trust. For more information on how you can take part and support your local church by getting sponsored on September 12, please see our Ride + Stride page.a great practical way to raise money for Sussex Historic Churches Trust.

We are delighted that this year marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Sussex Historic Churches Trust. During that time, hundreds of thousands of pounds have been awarded in grants to more than 500 churches and places of worship across East and West Sussex. St Peter's, Brighton How we started By the middle of the 20th century, many historic parish churches right across the UK were in a very poor state of repair. This was the result of many social and economic factors but was exacerbated by the Second World War, during which repair and maintenance of churches largely came to a standstill. Matters came to a head in 1950 with public statements, including an editorial in The Times. The Church of England's Church Assembly (now the General Synod of the Church of England) established the Repair of Churches Commission to decide what should and could be done. The Commission determined that an urgent funding requirement of £4,000,000 was needed to bring dilapidated historic parish buildings back to a sound condition. In 1953, a national body was set up to oversee the process – known at the time as the Historic Churches Preservation Trust and now called the National Churches Trust. The national authority set out to give grants for essential repairs and restoration of places of worship of architectural and historic interest throughout the country. It soon gave rise to numerous regional Trusts: one of the first to be established, in 1956, was the Sussex Historic Churches Trust. Our aims Our primary aims remain the same as they were in 1956 - to help preserve the churches and chapels of historic and architectural interest, which are in use for worship, throughout Sussex. In this context, 'historic' means buildings which are at least 100 years old and we offer help through grants for specific repairs to the fabric of the building. Raising money to fund repairs All the funds held by the Sussex Historic Churches Trust are derived from donations, bequests, investments and the annual sponsored Ride + Stride event. This is coming up soon on September 12 and will involve hundreds of fundraisers getting sponsored to cycle, walk or even drive to visit as many different churches as possible. Ride + Stride is a great way to see some of the wonderful historic buildings in Sussex and raise much-needed funds on a fun day out. Check out our story about Midhurst vicar Marcus Collie who is embarking on an epic pilgrimage starting on Monday, August 24th in Rye and ending at Chichester Cathedral. Riding his Suzuki motorbike, Marcus plans to pray at 100+ churches over five days to raise money for the Sussex Historic Churches Trust. Donations come from individuals, societies and some parishes. If you are not already contributing in this way, please consider doing so. Every contribution will expand the help the Trust can give. How Grants are Awarded All faiths, denominations and groups are welcome to submit a grant application via our website. Our Trustees meet twice a year to consider the applications. The next Trust meeting is on 18 September and the application deadline is September 4. The Trust favours making a significant number of relatively small grants contributing towards specific projects rather than a few large grants. The current policy 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. So far this year, a total of £40,000 has been awarded, including our largest grant to date - £24,000 to St Mary’s in Binstead. Among those places of worship which have received awards over the years are Chichester Cathedral, St Paul’s in Brighton, St Mary’s in Pulborough and All Saints in Hastings.

This year’s Ride + Stride event on September 12 coincides fortuitously with the national Heritage Open Day event which sees thousands of buildings across the country open their doors to the public free of charge. Among those churches which are “doubling down” on September 12 by celebrating both Heritage Open Day and Ride + Stride are: · Hastings All Saints · Patcham All Saints · Brighton St Barthlomew · Hastings St Clements · Sompting St Mary · Eastbourne St Mary the Virgin · Newtimber St John the Evangelist Sussex Heritage Open Day links For a full list of all the properties that will be open during the national Heritage Open Day celebrations, please see the following links: East Sussex | West Sussex. St John the Evangelist, Newtimber St John the Evangelist is once again hosting a very special event on Ride + Stride day. Starting at 12.15pm on September 12, the event will celebrate the culture and customs of the unheard voices who contributed to the expansion of the British Empire. The event will feature song, food, story telling and dance with a performance by Saidi Kanda, the award-winning Tanzanian multi-instrumentalist and lunch available from Soul Food Sisters from 1pm. One of the stories that will be told during the event is that of Thomas Highflyer, an eight-year-old boy who was rescued from an East African slave dhow in 1866. Thomas came to live in Brighton where he was cherished and cared for until his untimely death from tuberculosis at age 12. Full details for the St John the Evangelist event are here. St Mary’s, Sompting An exciting re-enactment event is planned at St Mary’s Sompting with Haestingas Regias re-enactors showing what working life was like in Mediæval times. On both September 12 and 13, the Haestingas will be transporting Sompting Church back to the year 1000. The interior of the church will be awash with ecclesiastical activity, with manuscripts being illustrated and reliquaries produced. Outside, there will be numerous stalls displaying crafts and producing food. Tours will run between 10am and 4pm; you can pre-book by emailing friends@stmarysompting.org.uk or calling 07399 231204. Full details here. St Mary the Virgin, Eastbourne The Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin is a wonderful 12th-century building in the heart of Eastbourne's Old Town. The attached Old Parsonage dates from the Tudor Period. The church will be open to the public from 9am to 4pm on September 12. Guided tours will run at 11.30am at 2.30pm and local historians will be on hand to assist visitors. Full details here. St Bartholomew, Brighton St Bartholomew’s, Brighton, is one of the great churches of the 19th-century - the cathedral of what used to be called the 'London-Brighton and South Coast Religion' with its incense, ritual, embroidered vestments and lights. The church will be open from 10am to 4pm on September 12. Full details are here. All Saints, Patcham All Saints has a history dating back to Saxon times - possibly as early as the 700s. All Saints was listed as Grade 2* in 1952 and is the Parish Church of Patcham. In the nave of the church and positioned over the chancel arch is a rare 13th-century Last Judgement or Doom Painting, whitewashed over at the time of the purges of the Reformation then rediscovered during renovations in 1880-1883. The church plans activities all day on September 12 including a talk by local historian Sue Taylor at 11am, refreshments/soup lunch from 12.30pm-2pm and Coastline Harmony singing a cappella at 3pm. Full details are here. All Saints, Hastings All Saints was built for the fishing community of Hastings in the 1400s. It has a medieval 'Doom' painting above the Nave and also an original Father Willis Organ. Open from 11am to 4pm on September 12. See here for details. Celebrating Heritage Open Day on other dates St Mary de Haura - parish church of New Shoreham The Grade 1 listed church of St Mary de Haura is an architectural gem and the largest church between Brighton and Worthing. The tour takes place on various days (September 11,17,18 and 19) and will take in the church’s Romanesque and transitional Gothic architecture, mediaeval graffiti, two Kempe stained-glass windows and a war memorial which honours the only RAF fighter pilot awarded the Victoria Cross in the Second World War. More info on the Heritage Open Day website. All Saints, Hove A tour of this magnificent Grade 1 listed parish church is taking place on September 16. Built in the late 19th-century in a Gothic revival style, the building was designed by the great Victorian architect John Loughborough Pearson, who was also the architect of Truro Cathedral. Full details here. Ride + Stride Ride + Stride is an annual event that that raises more than £1.5 million for churches right across the UK. At the Sussex Historic Churches Trust, it is by far our biggest fundraiser of the year and plays a vital role in enabling the Trust to help churches throughout East and West Sussex. For more information on how you can take part and support your local church by getting sponsored on September 12, please see our Ride + Stride page. Heritage Open Days The Heritage Open Days initiative, England’s largest festival of history and culture, is running September 12-21. There are scores of places to visit and activities to enjoy. Click the following links to find out what's on locally: East Sussex | West Sussex.

An enterprising and motorbike-mad vicar from Midhurst is embarking on an epic pilgrimage at the end of this month to raise much-needed funds for the Sussex Historic Churches Trust. The Revd Marcus Collie, vicar of Midhurst and Rector of All Hallows, Woolbeding, plans to pray in 100 churches across the Diocese of Chichester – traversing right from one end of Sussex to the other on the back of his newly-acquired Suzuki V-Strom. Marcus’s five-day pilgrimage gets underway on August 24th. He’s starting off at the 12th-century parish church of St Mary’s in the centre of Rye and will end – 100 churches and five days later - at Chichester Cathedral. The vicar is undertaking the pilgrimage under the umbrella of the Ride + Stride event which takes place every year to raise funds for local churches as well as the Sussex Historic Churches Trust. The official Ride + Stride Day this year is September 12. Marcus, who became vicar of Midhurst and Rector of All Hallows, Woolbeding in September 2023, is also a governor and chaplain at Midhurst Primary School. Many of the 100 churches he will be praying at have received Trust grants in the past to help with vital repairs and restoration. Marcus said: “I’ve always been a huge supporter of Ride and Stride and have taken part every year since I became the incumbent for the joint benefice three years ago. When I broke my foot in 2024, I couldn’t participate as a cyclist so I organised a “Ride and Hobble” instead. This involved leading a merry band of parishioners who use mobility aids on a “hobble” through Midhurst, finishing up with much-needed refreshments at the church!” Sussex Historic Churches Trust chairman Chris Whittick said: “This pilgrimage is a wonderful initiative and definitely one of the most unusual and ambitious Ride + Stride fundraising activities we have heard about. We are incredibly grateful that Marcus has chosen the Trust as the beneficiary of his endeavour.” How to make a donation To make a donation to Marcus's fundraiser, please click here or scan the QR code. Follow along You can follow Marcus’s progress on Midhurst Parish Church’s Instagram and Facebook accounts. The vicar is very much hoping that others will join him at various points during his pilgrimage. See the interactive Google map below which shows Marcus's epic route. Ride + Stride 2026 This year’s Ride + Stride takes place on September 12th. Ride + Stride plays a vital role in raising funds for places of worship and, nationally, raises more than £.15 million every year. In the last year, the Sussex Historic Churches Trust has awarded some £90,000 to help churches carry out essential repairs and restoration. Half the money raised during Ride + Stride goes to participants’ nominated place of worship while the other half goes to the Sussex Historic Churches Trust. For more information, see the Trust’s Ride + Stride page where you'll find lots of information for churches and would-be participants on how to take part.

A record-breaking £24,000 grant will help fund an ambitious programme of repairs and restoration at the 12th-century Church of St Mary in the village of Binsted, near Arundel in West Sussex. The grant, awarded by the Sussex Historic Churches Trust, is the largest single grant ever made by the Trust to a parish church and reflects the scale and urgency of the work facing the Grade II* listed building. Among the most pressing concerns are repairs to the church’s 13th-century porch, which has suffered both severe weather damage and vandalism, together with restoration work to a leaking west window. Churchwarden Carolyn Coles said: “The most pressing problem is the repair of the porch. Following the vandalism episode, both the glazing and the oak surround need to be tackled at the same time. Additional weathered areas also need to be repaired with suitable oak. The oak has been exposed to extreme weather conditions over many years.” The west window also requires extensive repointing and plaster repairs, both internally and externally, after prolonged water ingress into the church. The church’s consulting architect has additionally recommended replacing the polycarbonate coverings that have protected the windows for more than 40 years with metal grilles. Carolyn added: “Once this work is underway, the interior walls will also require redecoration. Sadly, over the years all sorts of substances have been used, so the plasterwork needs repairing before several coats of limewash can be applied.” St Mary’s is also home to several rare fragments of Romanesque font and medieval wall paintings dating back almost 900 years. These include depictions of a crowned female figure and a three-branched tree. Protection of the paintings during the restoration programme is a key priority. Carolyn, who is overseeing the project alongside two other members of the Parochial Church Council, said: “The jubilation experienced by us all is immense. It is difficult to find adequate words to convey our feelings of gratitude and amazement when we received the generous offer of assistance from Sussex Historic Churches Trust.” The Sussex Historic Churches Trust awarded a total of £40,000 in grants during its latest funding round in April, including £5,000 to St Catherine of Siena Church to help repair a leaking roof and £4,000 to St Mark’s church at Hadlow Down for repairs to exterior stonework. Across Sussex, grants from the Trust play a vital role in helping churches carry out essential conservation and repair work. In many cases, the funding proves to be the crucial factor in allowing restoration projects to proceed. To read more about the April grants and earlier church success stories, please visit the Trust’s news page. The next Trust meeting will take place on 8 September. Please note that applications must be submitted at least two weeks before the meeting date. Start planning your Ride + Stride fundraiser Churches across Sussex are already preparing for the Trust’s most important annual fundraising event. Ride + Stride, which takes place on Saturday 12 September, plays a crucial role in enabling the Trust to continue supporting historic churches throughout the county. Every church is encouraged to take part, and getting involved is simple. Funds raised through Ride + Stride are shared equally between the participating church and the Trust. If you are planning something special for this year’s event, do let us know via our Contact Page. How to amend your Ride + Stride details All churches are encouraged to check and update their Ride + Stride opening information and visitor facilities on the Ride + Stride information page, where full instructions for editing details can be found. Together, through practical support and shared enthusiasm, we can help ensure Sussex’s historic churches continue to thrive for generations to come.

The Sussex Historic Churches Trust (SHCT) has awarded £40,000 in its latest round of grants in April including a record-breaking £24,000 to the 12th-century Grade II* listed St Mary’s in Binsted. Grants from the Trust play an invaluable role, countywide, in helping churches carry out essential care and conservation of their historic buildings and the grants are often the ‘make or break’ factor in enabling church repairs to go ahead. To read more about earlier church ‘success stories’, please visit our news page. The latest round of grants reflects both the scale of need and the deep commitment of local communities to maintaining these precious places of worship and heritage. The next Trust meeting is on September 8 – please note the application deadline is two weeks before each meeting. For full details, visit our Grants page. The £24,000 grant to St Mary’s is the largest grant SHCT has ever made to a parish church and is set to make a real difference to the parish’s ambitious programme of works. The project includes replastering and redecorating the church interior, repairing glass windows and timber in the porch, and repointing the external walls. Together, these works will help secure the building’s future and enhance its welcome for all who visit. St Mary’s also holds tiny fragments of medieval wall paintings - a quiet reminder of the long story of worship and community life held within its walls. While not part of this particular project, they offer a glimpse into the rich heritage that efforts like this help to preserve. Other grants awarded in the April awards round were Chichester Cathedral (£2,000), St Catherine of Siena, Cocking (£5,000), St Mark, Hadlow Down (£4,000), St Augustine, Scaynes Hill (£3,000) and Holy Innocents, Southwater (£2,000). Each of these grants represents an invaluable partnership between SHCT and local churches, enabling vital repairs and improvements that might otherwise be out of reach. Ride + Stride fundraiser! Looking ahead, parishes are warmly encouraged to support the Trust’s most important fundraising event of the year: Ride + Stride, which takes place on Saturday, 12 September. This much-loved event plays a crucial role in making grants like these possible. All churches can take part, and it’s easy to get involved. All funds raised during Ride + Stride are split equally between the church and the Trust. Offering a warm welcome to participants (and possibly refreshments!) is a real bonus but, if it’s not possible for the church to be manned, then simply ensuring that the doors are open and providing sign-in sheets for sponsored cyclists and walkers makes a real contribution. Many churches choose to combine the day with other activities, creating a special occasion that draws in visitors and strengthens community connections. Some parishes even organise their own Ride + Stride routes, raising funds both for SHCT and for their own church. It’s a wonderful opportunity to celebrate our church buildings, encourage exploration, and share in a county-wide effort to care for them. If you’re planning something special for this year’s Ride + Stride, do let us know via our Contact Page! How to amend your Ride + Stride details All churches are encouraged to check their Ride + Stride availability and services on this page - www.sussexhistoricchurchestrust.org.uk/ride-stride/ride-stride-info-for-churches - where you will find full instructions for how to edit details. Together, through practical support and shared enthusiasm, we can ensure that Sussex’s churches continue to thrive for generations to come.

A £7,500 grant from the Sussex Historic Churches Trust came just in the nick of time for the 800-year-old, Grade 1 listed church in Salehurst.   St Mary the Virgin, originally built by the Cistercian monks of Robertsbridge Abbey, is mentioned in the Domesday Book; the present building dates back to the early 13 th century.   The church applied for the Sussex Historic Churches Trust grant as a matter of urgency in December after components of the wooden roof started coming loose and falling from the 12-metre-high ceiling of the church nave. The incidents included one slat falling into the congregation during a wedding – luckily into an empty pew. The fragile state of the wooden ceiling was a source of huge concern and led to two areas of the church having to be cordoned off for safety reasons.   Churchwarden Stuart Thompson said: ‘We discovered that the Victorian nails had rusted and more slats were in danger of falling.  Our inspecting architect recommended we act swiftly as the nails would continue to fail, putting those below in some jeopardy – and threatening the viability – or even closure – of the Church.’   With the SHCT grant and other funds secured, St Mary the Virgin was able to press ahead with the crucial repairs. St Mary’s has the longest church nave in Sussex so the project was a major undertaking, costing just over £30,000 in total.   Mr Thompson said: ‘Once the scaffolding was up, it became clear that the work was being done not a minute too soon. We could see from the ground that another slat was dislodged but, once the builders could inspect the structure of the ceiling, it turned out that a total of eight slats needed replacing – all of which could have fallen at any time! The apex of the nave ceiling is 12m high so any repairs are expensive and potentially complicated.’   Even though the church’s application was received some time before the next Trustees’ meeting the Trust acted quickly to award funds. Once the scaffolding was up, the builders secured the whole nave and chancel ceilings with some 2.5km of matching wooden battens - firmly nailed down either side of the wooden slats. As well as replacing the loose slats and securing the entire ceiling, the builders treated areas of extensive deathwatch beetle and woodworm damage and also painted the irons, holding the cross beams, with Hammerite.       Mr Thompson said: ‘The works were complete by early March, thanks to the generous support of the Sussex Historic Churches Trust. It was a massive, unplanned, cost in the middle of our major reordering project at St Mary’s – a headache the Wardens and Parochial Church Council could have done without!’     Worship continued during the essential roof repairs Because the cost of the scaffolding was so high, the PCC decided to bring forward plans to install wiring for a new Halo thermal heating system – rather than putting up scaffolding for a second time later on and spending an additional large sum. Mr Thompson added: ‘With the Victorian wooden ceiling safely secured for the next 100+ years, we can now press on with the next stages of our ambitious reordering project which will make St Mary’s a warm, huge and versatile space for the whole community to use and enjoy. The PCC, and all those who will now be able to sit safely in the nave and chancel, are really grateful to the Trust for their swift and generous answer to our SOS which helped make this vital repair work possible.’

The spectacular statue of St Michael the Archangel that adorns the tower of St Michael’s Church in Lewes has been reinstated after extensive repair work.   The 2.4m-high work was created by acclaimed British sculptor Harry Phillips who settled in the town in his later years and was a member of the church's congregation. Phillips, who completed numerous large public sculptures in his lifetime, started his career as a wood-carver, furniture-maker, blacksmith and potter. In 1950, he was appointed Head of Sculpture at Leeds College of Art in Leeds and much of his work is now housed in Leeds Museums and Galleries.   The stunning figure of St Michael the Archangel is highly dramatic with the saint suspended in a mid-air pose, arms outstretched with large wings spread behind and a large sword grasped in his right hand. The statue was installed in 1976 and was one of the last works that Phillips completed – he died the same year.   St Michael’s Church applied for a grant from the Sussex Historic Churches Trust in 2024. The statue had started to crack in a number of areas and there was extensive damage to the right arm and adjoining sword where water had got into the sculpture and was rusting the armature inside. Specialist repairs needed to be undertaken as soon as possible. The Trust does not normally give grants for the restoration of monuments and confines its assistance to essential works to the fabric of places of worship in Sussex. However, on this occasion, the Trustees thought that the dramatic nature of the work and its prominence in the Lewes townscape merited the Trust's support.   Scaffolding was erected and the statue carefully taken down and transported to LS Sculpture Casting in Aylesbury, which has provided specialist moulding and resin casting services for more than 40 years . David Challis said: “We first repaired the surface of the sword and arm to make a mould of it using silicone and fibreglass. This allowed us to cast a brand new arm and sword and we were able to attach this using laminated fibreglass. Fibreglass is just as strong and comes with the benefit of not being able to rust!   “We also cut off the left arm, removed the metal and reattached it using the same method. Other surface cracks and holes were repaired, and we also laminated the back of the wings as we found that these were mostly hollow with numerous holes and it was likely this is where water was getting into the sculpture. Finally, once everything was repaired, we re-patinated the sculpture using chemicals and waxes to achieve the verdigris finish.” The statue was finally reinstated at the beginning of October. Former churchwarden Andrew Smyth said: “We were delighted and very grateful for the Trust’s grant. St Michael’s has no spare money; we normally have to draw on fast dwindling reserves if we cannot get grants and donations for projects. It was a relief that we covered the costs without needing to. We always look to SHCT for financial assistance and it’s invariably a great help.”

Scaffolding that has enshrouded the tower of St Peter’s Church in Brighton has finally come down after more than a decade. The tower of the Grade II* listed building has been a huge concern for years due to eroding masonry and crumbling stone and rust. Often dubbed Brighton’s cathedral, the church one of the city’s most prominent landmarks and is considered one of the finest examples of the pre-Victorian Gothic Revival style. Restoration work has been going on for more than 15 years but it was the latest phase, begun in late 2024, which was partly funded by a £10,000 grant from the Sussex Historic Churches Trust. Revealed in all its splendour ... the tower of St Peter's, Brighton The most recent phase focused on structural repairs and essential stone replacement, removal of rusting cramps and extensive lime mortar repointing. Additional restoration work, which was identified and completed during the project, included the removal and replacement of external loose rendering around the south door and additional mechanical fixings added to the south parapet stones. Once the restoration work was completed, most of the scaffolding which has encased the church since 2014 could finally be dismantled and the splendid tower revealed once more. At the start of the project, building conservation specialists DBR (Southern) Limited described the building as in an "extremely dilapidated condition", with significant stone erosion and corroding iron cramps which had been exacerbated by the coastal environment. Fundraiser Sara Marsden-King said: “Thanks again for the support of the Trust. The impact of this project has been significant - not only in restoring our Tower but also in engaging our community. We are excited to continue to build on this momentum going forward.” St Peter’s Church was built between 1824-1828 and designed by Sir Charles Barry when he was only 28. He won the commission in a competition and it marked the start of a glittering career. Just ten years later, he was commissioned to design the new Houses of Parliament, the old Palace of Westminster having been destroyed in a fire. As it was ... for more than ten years!

A £6,000 grant awarded to the ancient parish church has helped  to fund a major project to re-tile the entire roof.    St Leonard’s in South Stoke, near Arundel, was built in the 11th century and has been a sacred place for almost a thousand years. Described on Visit Arundel website  as a “hidden gem”, the tiny flint church is situated in one of the most stunning parts of the South Downs National Park overlooking the River Arun. The church has no electricity or water and is lit by dozens of candles for the two regular services every month, along with weddings, baptisms and funerals throughout the year.   For much of its history, St Leonard's stood on its own as a parish church, celebrating the sacraments and preaching the gospel to nearby farm workers and their families. Since the 1920s, however, the parish has been joined with the neighbouring parish church of Arundel and became part of the Benefice of Arundel.    The church’s chronic roof issues came to a head four years ago when damp caused some serious internal plaster falls. It became clear that the only solution was extensive retiling.   Canon David Twinley, Rector at St Leonard, said that the roof had been "patched up, when necessary, over the years" but that an entire re-tile has been necessary since 2021.   As always with roofing projects in old buildings, a bat survey was required and church representatives also met up with experts from AEWC Ltd, an animal ecology and wildlife consultancy. Once St Leonards had acquired the necessary Bat Licence, work got underway in early September, carried out by Lion Roofing of Chichester.    Roof repairs underway at St Leonards, South Stoke Huge progress was made in the early weeks of the project, thanks to clement weather conditions. Now, with the scaffolding down, the work has been expertly completed in time for Christmas. New roof battens have been put in place. Old, damaged and broken tiles have been removed and the completed retiling  special access points for bats.   Both slopes of the Nave and Chancel roofs were re-weathered using salvaged replacement tiles along with new lead flashings. The roofers also installed a new felt underlayer to help provide a second barrier to water ingress and obviating the need for an expensive temporary roof.   The £6,000 grant from the Sussex Historic Churches Trust went a long way towards meeting the £11,000 shortfall in church funds. The entire project is costing close to £80,000. Churchwarden Colin Stepney said: “The grant from the Sussex Historic Churches Trust was enormously helpful. We could not have completed the project without it. “Delighted’ understates how we felt and how grateful we are to the Trust. To use an expression from the world of sport, it’s fair to say we were “over the moon!”   The Sussex Historic Churches Trust awarded a total of nearly £100,000 in grants in 2025 including St Mary the Virgin, Warbleton , St Mary’s Bepton, St Giles in Graffham, St Peter’s Westhampnett , St Peter & St Paul in Wadhurst and St Mary the Virgin, Ninfield .     Grant dates for 2026 The grant meetings in 2026 will take place on April 10  and September 18 ; applicants are advised to apply at least two weeks in advance . Please see our Grants  page for more information.

Ancient churches are all too familiar with the perils of water getting in and causing damage to both the fabric and structure of the building. It’s a perennial and costly problem for historic places of worship all over the country.   The Grade 1 listed church of St Mary the Virgin in Warbleton, which dates back to the 13th-century, is suffering serious water ingress at the connection between the nave and the chancel, the two very oldest parts of the church. Urgent repairs are needed to stop the situation from getting any worse.   To this end, the church was delighted to receive a £3,000 grant this September from the Sussex Historic Churches Trust and the award will help meet the £14,400 cost of repairs. St Mary’s is one of 11 churches that received a grant from the Trust in the latest tranche of awards.   Churchwarden Tony Welford said: “If these issues aren’t addressed quickly, it could have a greater impact on the fabric and repair costs could increase substantially. The longer we leave it, the worse it will get, and the more expensive it will be. We therefore hope to get things started in the very near future.   “As anyone who has an intimate knowledge of Grade 1 listed buildings will know, managing repairs and providing the required funding is not straightforward but the speed with which the Trust responded to our request made things much easier for us, both on a practical and a supportive level.”   St Mary the Virgin has a rich history - the church is built on a Neolithic mound and, as well as the 13th-century chancel and nave, also features a 14th-century porch and north aisle and 15th-century tower.   Warbleton was the home parish of   Richard Woodman , one of the Lewes martyrs who was churchwarden and burned alive for his faith in 1557. Woodman, an ironmaster, publicly objected to the local Parish Priest changing from Protestant to Roman Catholic. He was captured, and taken to London to stand trial. At his trial, he showed remarkable knowledge of the Bible and was able to quote from it verbatim. He was condemned by the Bishop of Winchester and it is believed that he was locked in Warbleton Church Tower. On June 22nd 1557, he was burned to death with nine other martyrs in front of the Star Inn at Lewes.   Mr Welford added: “We are a small country Parish and issues like this always have a greater significance in comparison. The fact that we have already raised around £6k is testament to the place that the Church holds in our local community.”   The Sussex Historic Churches Trust awarded a total of £50,000 in grants this month including St Mary’s Bepton, St Giles in Graffham, St Peter’s Westhampnett , St Peter & St Paul in Wadhurst and St Mary the Virgin , Ninfield .   Next year’s grant meetings will take place on April 10 and September 18; applicants are advised to apply at least two weeks in advance. See our Grants  page for more information.

The 800-year-old church of St Mary the Virgin in Ninfield has been awarded an £8,000 grant by the Sussex Historic Churches Trust to help fund   vital repairs to the parapet gutter and tower woodwork.   The grant was the largest conferred by the Trust in the latest round of awards in early September.     St Mary the Virgin, which is Grade 1 listed, dates back to pre-Norman times and is thought to lie on the route that the Normans took in 1066 - from their landing site at Pevensey to the battlefield at Senlac Field in Battle. The village of Ninfield is mentioned in the Domesday Book as having been badly damaged by the invading forces.   In recent years, the distinctive wooden bell tower has suffered from water penetration, and some of the roof joists are now rotten. The substrate of the parapet gutter is also thought to be failing. The church is hoping to raise further funds to cover the cost of the project and start work in early 2026.   The Revd Paul Frostick said: “ We were delighted to receive so generous a grant from Sussex Historic Churches Trust. It will make a huge difference to our project going forward. We are a small and fairly elderly congregation and struggle to keep things going. To receive such a generous grant is a great encouragement to us.”   The church is planning a series of fundraising activities over the coming months including a Michaelmas Fair in a few weeks.   The Revd Frostick   added: “The most urgent part of the project is to make repairs to the leadwork as water seems to be getting into the tower. Once that is done, then we can proceed with the painting of the tower woodwork as scaffolding will need to be in place for both aspects of the work.”    The Sussex Historic Churches Trust awarded a total of £50,000 in grants in September including awards to the ancient churches of St Mary’s Bepton, St Giles in Graffham, St Peter’s Westhampnett, St Peter & St Paul in Wadhurst and St Mary’s, Warbleton.