Historic England funding: grants for heritage and places of worship
Historic England funds conservation and heritage projects across the country, so if your work touches on the historic environment this guide is worth a read.
Who is Historic England and should you apply?
Historic England is the government's adviser on the historic environment. It funds the repair, conservation, and public use of historic buildings, sites, and places across England. Most of its money goes to charities, religious organisations, trusts, and community groups that are responsible for a heritage asset. If you run a small business with no connection to a listed building or historic site, this funder is not for you. But if you manage a crumbling church, a scheduled monument, or a historic building that the public can access, read on.
What Historic England funds
Repairs to places of worship
This is one of Historic England's most active areas of grant-making. The Places of Worship Renewal Fund pays for urgent repairs and essential improvements to listed places of worship in England. Grants run from £10,000 to £1,000,000. Think structural repairs, roof work, and essential building improvements that keep a listed church, mosque, synagogue, or other active place of worship safe and usable. The building must be listed and actively used for worship.
Conservation and repair of historic places
The Places grants programme is Historic England's broadest offer. It covers grants from £1,000 to £1,000,000 for projects that repair, conserve, and care for historic places. That includes buildings, structures, monuments, and landscapes. If you manage a historic asset and need funding to keep it in good condition or make it accessible to the public, this is the programme to look at first.
For assets that are in serious decline, the Heritage at Risk Capital Fund goes further. It focuses specifically on buildings and sites already on Historic England's Heritage at Risk Register. Grants range from £100,000 to £1,000,000, and up to £60 million is available across the programme. This is capital funding for repair and conservation work, not revenue costs.
People, skills, and research
Not every Historic England grant is about bricks and mortar. The People and Research scheme funds two distinct things. First, it supports engagement, skills, training, education, and heritage project posts that help people understand and work with the historic environment. Second, it funds research into historic places and buildings. Grants go up to £300,000. This is one of the few Historic England programmes where you do not need to own or manage a physical heritage asset to apply.
Young people and local history
The History in the Making Fund is aimed at projects that help young people aged 13 to 25 explore and celebrate local history. It focuses on young people who might not usually engage with heritage. The grant amount is not published, so you will need to contact Historic England or check the programme page for current figures. If your organisation works with young people and has a heritage angle, this is worth exploring.
Grant comparison table
| Grant | What it funds | Funding |
|---|---|---|
| Places of Worship Renewal Fund | Urgent repairs and improvements to listed places of worship | £10,000 to £1,000,000 |
| Places grants | Repair, conservation, and care of historic buildings, structures, monuments, and landscapes | £1,000 to £1,000,000 |
| Heritage at Risk Capital Fund | Repair and conservation of buildings and sites on the Heritage at Risk Register | £100,000 to £1,000,000 |
| People and Research | Engagement, skills, training, heritage posts, and research into historic places | Up to £300,000 |
| History in the Making Fund | Young people aged 13 to 25 exploring local and underrepresented history | Not published |
Who should apply
Historic England's grants suit a specific type of organisation. You are a strong candidate if you are:
- A charity or charitable trust that owns or manages a listed building or scheduled monument
- A religious organisation responsible for an active, listed place of worship
- A community group or heritage trust with stewardship of a historic site
- A local authority or public body managing heritage assets (for some programmes)
- A voluntary or community organisation running heritage engagement or skills projects
You will likely be wasting your time if you are:
- A private business with no public benefit angle and no heritage asset
- A university or research council looking for academic research funding (Historic England has separate routes for that)
- An organisation based outside England (these programmes do not cover Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland)
- A group with no connection to a specific historic place or asset, unless you are applying to People and Research or History in the Making
Before you apply
Your asset needs to be designated or at risk. Most Historic England capital programmes prioritise listed buildings, scheduled monuments, and sites on the Heritage at Risk Register. If your building is not designated, check before you spend time on an application. The Places grants programme has the broadest eligibility, but even there, the asset needs to be of recognised historic interest.
Match funding matters. Historic England rarely funds 100% of a project. For the Heritage at Risk Capital Fund, grants cover up to 60% of eligible costs. You need to show where the rest is coming from before you apply. Gaps in your match funding plan are one of the most common reasons applications stall.
Public benefit is not optional. Historic England wants to see that the public gains something from your project, whether that is physical access to a repaired building, learning opportunities, or skills development in the heritage sector. A repair project that keeps a building in private use with no public access is unlikely to score well.
Conservation philosophy counts. Historic England follows established conservation principles. They expect applicants to use appropriate materials and methods, particularly for listed buildings. If your repair plan involves modern materials that are not appropriate for the building's age and character, reviewers will notice. Get specialist conservation advice before you write your application, not after.
Browse more funding options for organisations like yours on the arts and heritage sector grants page, or filter by charity grants if you want to see what else is available across all funders in England.