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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.
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Welcome

WELCOME to the website of the 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, which are open for public worship, in the administrative County of Dorset. Our Annual Report and Accounts for the year 2022 has been added to the last 6 years' reports on the About Us page under the link Annual Report 2023. We hope that you will enjoy reading it.

Ride + Stride 2023 

Thank you to everyone who took part in R+S day despite the hot and humid weather on Saturday 9th. Many people went out early or chose to ride in the cool of the afternoon. The final results are now in and there have been some terrific performances by our supporters, including some from churches who have clearly made a big effort in 2023. The total raised has now reached £96,250 including £8,000 Gift Aid tax relief from Just Giving for direct  sponsorship pledges. The Trustees have considered the results very carefully in judging which church should be awarded the much-prized Morshead Trophy. This year it has been awarded to St Andrew, Fontmell Magna for achieving outstanding support both in 2023 and over a number of years. St Andrew's church was a former winner in 2012 but became eligible again in 2023. More on this on the Ride + Stride page in due course.  

News of our next Lecture Lunches and Church Crawls  

Two Lecture Lunches have been programmed for our Friends at the Tarrant Arms in Tarrant Monkton - Wednesday 13 March and Thursday 18 April. The dates for our Church Crawls have just been finalised: Thursday 9 May, Wednesday 5 June, Thursday 11 July and Wednesday 11 September. Please go to our Friends page where more details will be published in due course. Guests are always welcome at these events subject to space being available. 

Featured Church

St Andrew Fontmell Magna

St Andrew's church and its community have been outstanding performers in Ride + Stride over many years. The Trustees are delighted to have agreed unanimously to award the Morshead Trophy once again to Fontmell Magna.

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Grants in the last 12 months

8

70,000

8,750

More on Grants

A Message from our new Chairman, His Honour David Grant 

One of my first tasks as the new Chairman of DHCT was to visit Frome St Quentin 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 objectives 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 well 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. 

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