New grant for historic Hastings church

A Grade II* Listed church in Hastings has received new funding so it can start work on a major restoration programme.

Holy Trinity Hastings (HTH) has been awarded a £50,000 grant from the National Churches Trust to help start the project.

It follows on from a multi-million pound grant awarded to the church from the National Lottery Heritage Fund last year.

The Gothic Revival building is listed on Historic England's Heritage at Risk Register as 'poor' and at risk of 'decay' due to its severely eroded stonework.

Water has been entering the building due to cracks in the stonework and the church will undergo a programme of external and internal urgent repairs.

These will include fixing eroded stonework, replacing roof coverings and gutters to ensure the church is watertight and damp free.

The preservation project will also involve recruiting new volunteers to act as tour guides with the aim of tripling annual visitor numbers to around 7,600.

The church opened in 1858 and and is described by the National Churches Trust as a landmark in Hastings.

It is hoped the restoration work will preserve the building for future generations.

Claire Walker, the Trust's chief executive, said they were "delighted to be able to support Holy Trinity Hastings to enable them to carry out urgent repairs to their beautiful building".

HTH vicar Simon Larkin said the grant was a "significant step forward" in moving off the risk register.

He said would enable them to "welcome even more people into this remarkable and beautiful building".

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