William and Jane Morris Church Conservation Grants
Awards of £500-£5,000 to churches, chapels and other places of worship in the United Kingdom for the conservation of decorative features and monuments.
We make these awards from the Morris Fund, which was formed in 1939 using a bequest to the Society from May Morris, the younger daughter of William and Jane Morris. In accordance with May’s will, we only support work carried out under the principles of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB), which was founded by her father.
Who can apply
You can apply on behalf of a church, a chapel or any other place of worship in the United Kingdom.
Restrictions
What don’t we fund
projects outside the UK
structural repairs and fabric maintenance
alteration or decoration of buildings
electrical rewiring, plumbing or central heating systems
bells or organs
works already completed (grants are not made retrospectively)
anything created after 1896
items on the outside or in the grounds of the building
Eligible expenditure
We fund smaller programmes of work concerned with the conservation of decorative or non-structural features inside the building. This might include, for example:
stained glass windows
sculpture
furniture
internal monuments and tombs
wall paintings
The object must have been made no later than 1896 (the year of William Morris’s death), even if it is in a building which is older. Turret clocks and organs are not grant aided. However applications for a clock or an organ case that makes a significant contribution to the interior of a church, and/or is of specific antiquarian interest, may exceptionally be considered.
How to apply
You can apply at any time but the deadlines for the two rounds each year are:
31 March (applicants notified by 31 May)
31 August (applicants notified by 30 November)
Please follow this link to our Make a Grant Application page and follow the instructions there. N.B. The grant application portal for Morris applications is NOT yet ‘live’ – please hold your application until Thursday 29th February 2024 when you will be able to submit.
Useful links
https://www.sal.org.uk/what-we-do/grants/our-grant-programmes/