News
Instagram (posted 10 Jun 26)
You can now receive Instagram posts and follow the build-up to Ride + Stride on our new Instagram site. Go the foot of this (or any other) page to log-in.
Charity Walk in aid of Hope for Food, CRUMBS project and DHCT
A series of walks along the Jurassic Coast with a variety of sections between Hengistbury and Seaton over 13 stages from June to October started on Saturday 6th June at St Nicholas, Hengistbury with a steady 8 miles to Sandbanks. Sponsorship is invited through the the Rotary Trust Fund JustGiving page in aid of three charities, including DHCT. The walks were completed at the end of October.
Annual Report and Review published (28 Apr 26)
The report on the work of the Trust, Ride + Stride results and our approved accounts has been published. It can be read by clicking on the link on the About Us page of this website. Paper copies for churches will be sent out to Church Reps and also to Churchwardens attending their annual Visitation prior to taking up or resuming office. Paper copies will also be sent by post to all our Friends in the near future. We hope that you will find it informative and enjoyable - our 65th year has been a great success and we owe that to our supporters across the County who work as a great team with the Church Reps, Deanery Area Reps and Trustees. We are also very grateful for the support of our Webmaster, R+S Administrator and Book-keeper who do so much behind the scenes to keep DHCT a vigorous enterprise.
Grant News (posted 22 Oct 26)
At their meeting in October, the Trustees were pleased to award grants totalling £45,800 to 6 churches. Work to be supported ranges from replacement heating, rainwater goods, repairs to window stonework and roofs. Details can be found on the Grants page.
Ride + Stride 2026 Running total as at 31 Oct 26
The total exceeds £108,000, to which we hope to add at least £10,000 in Gift Aid tax relief. Another astonishing a very gratifying outcome. Many more riders and striders than last year gathered their sponsorship through JustGiving which reduced the workload on our book-keeper. A really helpful trend.
For some pictures from the day please go to our Ride + Stride page.
Friends Application and Standing Order forms
We have made a few minor changes to the Application and Standing Order forms which we hope will make the process even more transparent. If you are keen to join our growing Friends membership, please go to the Friends page of the website and download the forms.
Future Events
We have widened the scope of the Events that we are happy to advertise beyond musical occasions to any event in Dorset that will benefit the fabric or usability of one of our churches. If you are running such an event, please forward the poster or notice in .jpg format and we will be pleased to upload it. E-mail to [email protected]
Trust celebrated its 65th anniversary
Dorset Historic Churches Trust (DHCT) celebrated its 65th birthday at Milton Abbey on 11 July with a reception for 170 people including architects, builders and clergy, and many others who have a direct interest in the maintenance of the county’s beautiful and historic church buildings.
Since the Trust’s foundation in 1960, it has given away over £2.6 million for maintenance and restoration of Dorset churches. In 2026, £160,550 was awarded to 26 different projects. Neither the national church nor the government directly fund any of these.
As Dr Tim Connor, a Trustee, explained the concept of “historic” may change through times but the need to repair our heritage only grows. It is to help with this task that the Trust exists. David Burnett, founder of the Dovecott Press, considered the romance of Dorset churches, and the Bishop of Ramsbury, who is the Church of England’s lead bishop for parish churches, emphasised the way that churches are buildings of hospitality and sanctuary for everyone.
The Chairman of the Trustees, His Honour David Grant, thanked the Abbey for allowing this event to take place and Milton Abbey School for providing catering and facilities, as well as fellow Trustee, Sir Andrew Graham, and his team for planning the occasion.
HM Lord Lieutenant, Mr Michael Dooley, attending in his official capacity as the President of the DHCT, thanked everyone for coming and said that churches offer sanctuary both in the physical sense but also in a deeper sense of harmony. He wished the Trust another 65 successful years, expressing the hope that everyone present would continue to work in harmony for the benefit of our wonderful churches.
To see some images from a beautiful summer's evening at Milton Abbey, please click on the link below.
The award of a grant is always a welcome boost to the confidence of a church community who are faced with repairs to a leaky roof or failing timbers. But it is the day when the work has been completed and the bills have been certified that brings the pay-out. In recent months, the Trust has paid out to churches as follows:
Owermoigne, St Michael towards Quinquennial repairs and facilities £8000
Steeple, St Michael and All Angels for roof repairs £15,000
Fontmell Magna, St Andrew towards urgent roof repair £10,000
Chaldon Herring, St Nicholas towards general repairs £7778
Silton, St Nicholas towards replacing internal timbers £5300
South Perrott, St Mary towards re-leading of vestry roof £4200
Langton Long, All Saints towards stonework and re-pointing £6500
Skinner Street, Poole towards roof repairs £5000
The Trustees and Deanery Area Representatives gathered at an evening drinks party kindly hosted by our Chairman David Grant and his wife Claire.
We have vacancies for Deanery Area Reps and Parish Organisers
The Trust has a network of Parish Organisers who help to run Ride + Stride for Churches, our one fund-raising event each year, and a team of Deanery Area Representatives who support the Parish Organisers and help churches to apply for grants.
Do you have a little spare time to help the all-volunteer Trust continue its work? You will join a well-established team of like-minded enthusiasts who bring a range of skills - chiefly organisation, networking and motivation - to make the Trust run smoothly and effectively in your part of the County. You will be given every assistance when you first start including an on-line guide pack called the DAR Handbook to refer to at any time and of course there will also be experienced colleagues to advise. DARs work to ensure that every church has a PO to ensure that Ride + Stride continues to be the huge success that it has been over the past few years. The DAR also helps individual churches prepare an application for a DHCT grant should that be necessary. We have vacancies now in certain areas of Dorset for the roles of Deanery Area Representative and Parish Organiser.