Hampshire and the Islands Historic Churches Trust
Hampshire and the Islands Historic Churches Trust (HIHCT) is a charity formed in 1988 to support historic churches within Hampshire, the Isle of Wight and Channel Islands with grants to help maintain and repair their buildings. It can award grants to churches of any Christian denomination, but they must be members of Churches Together in England. In this way, they can help to support our ancient building heritage and the local communities they serve.
Who do they support?
Since foundation HIHCT has helped 319 churches scattered throughout the region contributing £1m to essential repairs and refurbishment, where churches have struggled to find enough financial support to carry out the necessary works.
The charity has been donated more than £1.1m, in large part by the incredible support of local church communities taking part in the national Ride and Stride day, held on the second Saturday in September. The charity is also fortunate to have benefitted from some significant legacies. It aims to spend the majority of its annual income each year through grant giving; their expenses are minimal because we are all volunteers.
What are the costs?
From 2026, the cost of church repairs are likely to increase even further due to government changes to the Listed Places of Worship scheme, its replacement – the Places of Worship Renewal fund – is widely predicted to be inadequate.
This change means listed churches will now have to pay VAT on repairs (prior to this year they could claim VAT back). There is some provision by the government to offset this, but for many churches it will increase the need to raise further funds. It is a competitive grant rather than an automatic refund and churches will probably need to prove their repairs are urgent and provide high community value.
The charity reached its zenith of Ride and Stride donations in 2022, but since then its income has fallen. Since 2019, the number of churches taking part has fallen each year, although the total donation per sponsored church has remained unchanged.
In the past Ride and Stride has involved groups or individuals from a church getting sponsored to cycle or walk to as many churches that day as possible. However it has become a misnomer; sponsorship of any challenge on that day is perfectly permissible. Other examples are vintage car rallies and church bell ringing. Anyone can take part - you just need a modicum of imagination! Sponsorship money is divided equally between HIHCT and the church that is organising the event – a win/win for everyone.
HIHCT needs your help
The charity is passionate about our ancient church heritage and wants to continue to give grants to churches in need, but to do this we need support for its Ride and Stride sponsorship campaign. It also needs more help to support our voluntary team, especially anyone with social media/communication skills – and of course a love of our ancient church buildings!
