Applications closed on 25 September 2026.

Many funders run the same grant every year, so check the funder’s site for a new round. The details below are what the funder published when it was open.

Oxfordshire Historic Churches Trust

Oxfordshire Historic Churches Trust Grants

Grants towards repairs and practical enhancements to any church, chapel or meeting house in Oxfordshire used for public worship, regardless of denomination. The trust funds new work as well as repairs — toilets, kitchens, disabled access, heating, lighting, organs, bells and clocks — provided the work maintains the building's historical integrity. Small grants also encourage feasibility and option studies. A separate scheme pays up to 80% of the cost of a roof alarm plus its first year's maintenance. Council meets three times a year and every application is presented by a local area representative, who should be contacted before applying.

Check the funder’s site

Open grants like this

Grants you can apply for now, for the same kind of work or place.

You could get: Amount not specified
Deadline: Closed; the deadline has passed
Effort: Moderate; full application with documents

Who can apply

Any church, chapel or meeting house in Oxfordshire used as a place of public worship, of any denomination
Buildings completed less than fifty years ago are not eligible unless there are special circumstances
Grants cannot be given for work that has already been started
An applicant may submit only two grant applications in any four-year period, not counting emergency and supplementary grants, feasibility studies and roof alarm grants
For a roof alarm grant, any grant awarded is conditional on all necessary permissions being obtained before installation — for Anglican churches a faculty is not needed, as fitting a roof alarm is designated List A work, though other permissions may be — on the insurer approving the system, on cabling being kept to the minimum reasonably practicable, on electrical work being done by someone whose work is subject to an accredited certification scheme, on the system being maintained for at least five years after installation, and on all work complying with the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974

What it funds

Restoration, upkeep and maintenance of fabric
Heating and lighting repairs or replacement
Repairs to pipe organs, bells, clocks, internal monuments and windows
Churchyard walls, monuments and footpath drainage
New work as well as repairs, where it maintains the historical integrity of the building, contents and environment: toilets, kitchens and utility areas, disabled access, professional fees excluding VAT incurred as part of a completed project, new floors and stairs in towers such as ringing chambers, electrical work, sound systems, security systems, pipe or electronic organs, and vestries and storage areas

Small grants are available to encourage feasibility studies, option studies, scoping out and investigative works relating to repairs and new work.

Under the separate Roof Alarm scheme, grants of up to 80% of scheme costs plus the first year's maintenance, for churches of any denomination in Oxfordshire with lead, copper or stone slates at risk of theft.

What it will not fund

Routine maintenance, unless identified as part of the quinquennial inspection or where the work is urgent and further delay may significantly deteriorate the fabric
Work that has already started
Removal or replacement of pews
Liturgical re-ordering, such as nave altars and platforms
Church or parish halls
Car parks
Buildings less than fifty years old, unless there are special circumstances
Roof alarm systems that have already been installed

only two grant applications may be submitted in any four-year period, excluding emergency and supplementary grants, feasibility studies and roof alarm grants

How to apply

Contact your local OHCT area representative for help and advice before completing anything — every application is presented to Council by the area representative
Register for an account on the OHCT website, which is required in order to apply
Complete the online application form, which asks for many different kinds of information; you can save it and return to it later
Submit in time for the Council meeting, which requires the form by the published deadline

for a roof alarm grant, use the separate roof alarm webform; only one quotation is required for OHCT purposes, though you may wish to talk to more than one supplier

the trust has a partnership with the alarm company E-Bound, but will consider an installation by any alternative supplier approved by your insurers

Have ready

For a roof alarm grant: one quotation
For a roof alarm grant: evidence that necessary permissions and insurer approval are in place

the trust does not publish a document list. The online form asks for many different kinds of information and can be saved and returned to, so it is worth opening early to see what is needed.