GrantRadar

Pilgrim Trust

Places of worship grants

Pilgrim Trust grants for the conservation of historic interiors and historic objects in places of worship that are open for regular worship, from bells, organs and stained glass to monuments, wall paintings and churchyard structures, plus conservation reports. The Trust no longer funds building repairs to active places of worship. Anglican churches apply through the ChurchCare conservation grants scheme, which the Trust part-funds; all other denominations, faiths and cathedrals apply to the Trust directly.

Apply on the funder’s site
You could get
Amount not specified
no fixed round
Deadline
Rolling
apply any time
Effort
Moderate
full application with documents

Who can apply

  • Places of worship open for regular worship of any denomination or faith other than the Church of England, and cathedrals, applying to the Trust directly; Anglican churches must use the ChurchCare conservation grants scheme instead
  • The Trust funds UK registered charities, organisations with exempt charitable status and recognised public bodies
  • Community Benefit Societies and Community Interest Companies limited by guarantee are also eligible, but must show their work is legally charitable: a constitution showing public benefit, good governance and protection against private gain, at least three directors (most of them not paid employees), salaries approved by a majority of non-executive directors, and, if not a registered charity, an asset lock
  • Projects must be UK-based and not already complete
  • Only one application is considered at a time

What it funds

Conservation of historic interiors and historic objects in places of worship open for regular worship, including:

  • Bells
  • Books and manuscripts
  • Clocks
  • Decorative plasterwork
  • Metalwork and church plate
  • Monuments
  • Organs
  • Paintings on canvas and wood
  • Stained glass
  • Textiles
  • Timberwork
  • Wall paintings
  • Historic structures in churchyards
  • The commissioning of conservation reports, including environmental and technical investigations

projects to find sustainable uses for redundant or closed places of worship are considered under the separate Historic Buildings and Structures programme.

What it will not fund

  • Repair grants for the buildings of places of worship open for active worship
  • Retrospective grants against contracts already let or work completed
  • Projects outside the UK
  • Unrestricted funding
  • Direct applications from Anglican churches (these go through ChurchCare)
  • Community Interest Companies not limited by guarantee

How to apply

  1. Take the eligibility quiz on the Trust's website (the application forms cannot be reached without it)
  2. Stage One: submit key details about your project on the Flexigrant online grants system so the Trust can check its suitability; a response comes within four weeks
  3. Stage Two: set out the application in full, at any time within 12 months of a successful Stage One

Anglican churches apply through ChurchCare, not to the Trust. Sample Stage One and Stage Two forms can be viewed before applying. Stage Two applications over £5,000 go to quarterly trustee meetings; the cut-off for the November 2026 meeting has passed, and the 2027 cut-offs are 8 January, 9 April, 23 July and 1 October. No hard-copy applications.

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