Dorset Historic Churches Trust
We are a registered charity which, in partnership with the National Churches Trust, is dedicated to the preservation of Christian churches and chapels of all denominations in the administrative County of Dorset.
This little jewel of a rural church is facing serious water ingress problems which require the restoration of leaded windows and much lead and slate work on the main roof. St Mary's is supported by a dedicated but very small congregation with only a small reserve fund. The Trustees recognised the existential risk to the building and awarded a large grant of £16,000 which will enable much of the work to be started.
View Church
Alan Neades has been riding for Piddlehinton since 2010 when he was recovering from a life-saving operation. Not having ridden a bike for 40 years, his first ride was on a borrowed bike. He then bought a bike and in subsequent years has visited over 40 churches per year and raised at least £10,000 which has been shared between DHCT and St Mary the Virgin, Piddlehinton. We don't expect all our riders to set their sights so high, but it is wonderful that we have some elite cyclists and one or two are well over 70 years of age.
Thank you, Alan
There are a number of ways that you can help DHCT to preserve and sustain the churches in our County. You can join as a Friend of the Trust, you could take part in our annual fund-raising event Ride + Stride for Churches or sponsor someone who will be. Or you could make a donation today to help fund our grant making. We aim to award grants to the value of £150,000 for 2025 so anything that you give will be gratefully received and put to good use. Please click here and follow the guidance. Thank you very much.
One of my first tasks as the new Chairman of DHCT was to visit Frome St Quintin on the occasion of a formal presentation of a cheque to mark the grant made by DHCT for works of repair to the roof of that lovely church, parts of which go back to the 14th century.
That provided the opportunity to reflect on the objective of DHCT in contemporary times. It is to assist in keeping churches in a satisfactory state and condition, so that they can provide a viable use for both community and spiritual purposes. Frome St Quentin provides an excellent example: as a small village, it does not have a village hall or a pub, but the church is well used and thus becomes a focus for community life and events. By making the roof watertight and thus stopping the rain from coming in and causing inevitable subsequent issues of damp, the church can continue to be used, whether for church services, musical events, or other functions.
There will be many challenges for DHCT in the near future. Building costs have increased; in some places diminishing congregations will require practical solutions to be found. But Dorset has a rich heritage in its churches, many of which call for support from bodies such as DHCT. There is much work to do to ensure DHCT can continue to provide that support and much satisfaction all round when a project is well completed.
