News
STAFFORDSHIRE HISTORIC CHURCHES TRUST
Pandemic Years 2020-2022
This comes with greetings from the committee members of the Trust. Yes, we are still here and still awarding grants to help the churches of Staffordshire keep going in difficult times. There has been no AGM for a number of years; there was no legal requirement for this but you will find the accounts in the About Us tab.
Roger Williams’ popular tours around church buildings are now re-instated with the help of Mark Parsons. There are three tours on this year - please see the separate tab for details and booking information.
PCCs and other leaders of our churches are going to find the pandemic has severely ‘hit’ them because of COVID so it is even more important that we are able, through your help, to be able to hand out grants. During the past two years we have supported a number of churches with grants totaling nearly £25,000 and have more offer of grants in hand and yet to be claimed.
But we are looking at the wider issue caused by the pandemic and so we are working to set up some sort of small grant system for small churches (congregationally small usually) who will find it hard to re-establish life after COVID. We are being helped in this by our new member of the committee, Fiona North. This will be a rolling programme and every help financially will be needed – so please keep supporting us and if you can, invite your friends to join in too.
2nd October 2019
Joint President of SHCT Announced
The Staffordshire Historic Churches Trust is delighted to announce that Mr. John Giffard, C.B.E., Q.P.M., D.L. has accepted an invitation to become Joint President of the Trust alongside the Bishop of Lichfield, the Right Rev’d Dr. Michael Ipgrave. Mr Giffard accepted the invitation following the resignation of The Rt. Hon. The Earl of Shrewsbury and Talbot DL. Mr. Giffard, was Chief Constable of the Staffordshire Police Force from 1996 to 2006. The Giffard family have held the Chillington Estate in South Staffordshire since the year 1178. John and Crescent Giffard are the 29th generation of Giffards to make the estate their home.
The Staffordshire Historic Churches Trust award grants toward the preservation, repair, maintenance, improvement, upkeep or beautification of any Christian Church within the county of Stafford. The geographical county stretches from the picturesque Moorlands through the industrial ‘potteries’ in Stoke on Trent to the largely agricultural mid-Staffs and the south west of the County around Kinver and Wombourne. The churches in the County are as varied and picturesque as the landscapes. The work and cost of maintaining the array of historic and beautiful church buildings can be daunting as well time consuming. The Trust awards grants towards the large and small-scale restoration of historic churches of all periods including twentieth century, including roof and wall repairs, improvements to buildings as well as the conservation of ancient or more modern features including stained glass, wall paintings and monuments.
In accepting the invitation Mr. Giffard said “I was delighted to be asked to be joint president with Bishop Michael. I have a long standing interest in the heritage of Staffordshire and will do whatever I can to help the Trust in its work preserving an important part of the county’s history”.