Summer celebration as York Baptist Church receives funding boost 

The much-loved Yorkshire church is to share in a £290,000 funding payout from the National Churches Trust  

A £10,000 National Churches Trust Cornerstone Grant will help fund roof repairs at the Grade II listed York Baptist church making the building watertight and preserving its historic fabric.

Broadcaster and journalist Huw Edwards, Vice President of The National Churches Trust, said, 'The UK's historic churches and chapels are a vital part of our national heritage. But to survive, many need to carry out urgent repairs and install modern facilities. The cost of this work is far beyond what most congregations can pay for themselves.

'So I’m delighted that the York Baptist church is being helped with a £10,000 National Churches Trust Grant. The work on repairs to the building's roof will help secure the future of an historic building.'

The church

Land in Priory Street was purchased in February 1866 for York Baptist church and the foundation stone was laid in January 1867. The Baptist church is the first Gothic style non-conformist chapel in the city, and one of the few still remaining. The church architect was William Peachey of Darlington and the building was opened in June 1868.

The project

The project will remove and replace the faulty roof coverings, reset the ridge tiles, repair stonework and replace missing mortar in stone work.

John Green, Church Worker at York Baptist Church, said, 'Our church building is over 150 years old. Although basically sound, time has taken its toll and some deterioration has occurred. This is particularly in the roof, where water seepage into the upstairs rooms has meant a major renovation of the slate roof covering has become necessary.

'We are delighted that the National Churches Trust has contributed £10,000 towards our costs. A watertight roof means that the upper rooms will not have to be closed off and can continue to be used to share the good news of Jesus with those who attend the activities that we run throughout the week.'  

Grants to help churches

A total of 48 churches and chapels in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland will benefit from the latest grants from the National Churches Trust, the charity supporting church buildings of all Christian denominations across the UK.

Last year, the National Churches Trust helped support 202 projects with grants of £1.2 million. 23 churches and chapels were removed from the Heritage at Risk Register in 2018 with the support of the Trust’s grants.


Churches and chapels open for regular public worship (i.e. more than six services a year) and in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands can apply for a grant from the National Churches Trust.  More details at www.nationalchurchestrust.org/grants