SUPPORTING CHURCHES OF ALL DENOMINATIONS IN THE COUNTY OF CAMBRIDGESHIRE SINCE 1983
Help us secure the future of these important community buildings
INTRODUCTION FROM THE CHAIR OF TRUSTEES
His Honour Neil McKittrick
FORTY YEARS OF SUPPORT FOR CAMBRIDGESHIRE’S CHURCHES OF ALL DENOMINATIONS
Cambridgeshire has more than 300 churches and chapels of historic and architectural interest. They span over a thousand years from the Saxon period at Great Paxton to the High Victorian at Waresley and the 20th century at the Good Shepherd, Arbury.
The care of church buildings is the responsibility of the local community, which carries the burdens of continuous maintenance and the raising of funds for repair.
Vital additional funding for some of our finest heritage assets
Since it was founded in 1983 CHCT has raised and distributed over £2 million in loans and over £500,00 in grants helping to preserve, develop and renovate some of the County’s most treasured churches, many of which have iconic status in their villages and localities. CHCT’s grants and loans are usually the first given to such projects and are known to be catalysts in terms of encouraging and inspiring other donations.
CHCT is particularly keen to fund improvements which enable church buildings to be more widely used by their communities, eg the provision of kitchens and toilets, improved access, heating and modern wiring. The Trust also awards grants towards the repair and conservation of memorials and monuments, including those in churchyards.
Alongside this the Trust organises events which encourage everyone to enjoy and to understand the art and architecture of the county’s churches and chapels. There is an Annual Conference in the Spring and there are Church Tours in the summer led by distinguished local experts in architecture and iconography.
Our vision
Our vision is to ensure that Cambridgeshire’s churches remain fit for their threefold purposes: for worship; as a community resource; as a valued heritage asset.
A special campaign for 2023
In pursuit of these goals, we are launching a Legacy Campaign, which will enable us to increase the help we currently give to churches of all denominations in the county.
How you can support our 40th Anniversary Campaign
There are a number of ways you can support our 40th Anniversary Campaign.
You can:
LEAVE A GIFT IN YOUR WILL
A Pecuniary Legacy allows you to specify a sum of money for the Trust.
A Specific Legacy allows you to leave an asset to the Trust (eg Property, Works of Art, Shares)
A Residuary Legacy allows you to gift all or part of your estate after other legacies and expenses have been paid.
A Reversionary Legacy allows you to leave assets to the Trust while giving a named person the benefit of them during their lifetime.
CHANGING/MAKING A WILL
If you have already made a Will and wish to make a bequest to CHCT, contact your solicitor.
If you need help finding a solicitor go to the Law Society’s website:
(https://solicitors.lawsociety.org.uk/?Pro=True)
For further information about leaving a gift in your Will or adding a Codicil, please contact our Administrator by email ([email protected]) or by phone 01353-668438.
Cambridgeshire Historic Churches Trust is a registered charity, number 287486.
