The Historic Chapels Trust was a British Registered Charity set up to care for redundant non-Anglican churches, chapels, and places of worship in England. Its holdings encompassed various nonconformist Christian denominations and Roman Catholic sites.
Foundation Established in 1993, the Trust took into ownership buildings of exceptional architectural and historic significance that are no longer used by their congregations, in practice buildings listed Grade I or II* by English Heritage. It was founded in response to the large number of places of worship that were being demolished or destroyed by insensitive conversion and it was the only body with this mission in England.
Activities Once acquired, the buildings were repaired and restored, and then available for new, mostly secular, community uses. The places of worship can be of any denomination or faith, other than the Anglican Church. They included Nonconformist chapels of the Methodist, Unitarian, Baptist, Lutheran denominations, two Congregationalist chapels, two Quaker meeting houses and four Roman Catholic churches. The Trust has the power to take synagogues and non-Christian places of worship but in spite of negotiations has not yet done so. The Trust arranged for the chapels to be open to the public at advertised times, and wherever possible it introduces disabled access. The Trust encouraged the use of the buildings for services of worship.
At about half of its sites the Trust formed a volunteer local committee to organise events, arrange occasional services of worship. Elsewhere it engaged volunteers as key-holders and to assist with the maintenance of sites. In 2012 the Trust declared a moratorium on rescuing new sites unless they are donated together with endowment funds, and in 2025 a policy of dispersal of its collection of buildings was commenced, due to the removal of English Heritage grant support.
Directors of the Trust were Dr.Jenny Freeman 1993 – 2011, who was awarded an OBE for her services to heritage. Roland Jeffery held the post of Director 2013–2018.
Finances & Viability Historic Chapels Trust lacked an endowment and received no direct government grant. It depended from the start on grants from English Heritage, later Historic England and the Heritage Lottery Fund, money earned by events at the buildings, support from trusts and foundations, and donations from individuals and Patrons. This is in contrast with the larger Churches Conservation Trust, which received 70 percent of its funding from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and the balance from the Church Commissioners of the Church of England. However it can only take into care Anglican buildings. In 2016 Historic England announced that its financial support for Historic Chapels Trust would be wound down to zero, causing the Trustees to fundamentally review the viability of the charity. In 2021 dispersal of the collection was initiated. By 2026 eighteen chapels had been transferred to other owners, mostly non-profit bodies, and two were sold into private ownership. The process of winding up the charity was initiated in 2026.
The Trust operated only in England and was led by a board of Trustees. Since 2015 the President of the Trust is the Rt Hon Lord Beith.
Rescued places of worship In spite of its meagre resources the Trust rescued 20 properties., some from a semi-derelict state, such as the Dissenters' Chapel in Kensal Green Cemetery, and Salem Chapel in East Budleigh, Devon. Some chapels are in remote locations, such as Biddlestone Chapel in Northumberland, Farfield Friends Meeting House in West Yorkshire, and Penrose Methodist Chapel in Cornwall. Others are in urban areas, such as Wallasey Memorial Unitarian Church in Merseyside, and St George's German Lutheran Church in London. Some of the rescued chapels were small and simple, others large and elaborate buildings, such as the Bethesda Methodist Chapel in Hanley, Staffordshire, Todmorden Unitarian Church in West Yorkshire, Umberslade Baptist Church in the West Midlands, and the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in Blackpool, Lancashire. During the first 13 years of its existence, the Trust won ten architectural awards, including a Europa Nostra Award for the Dissenters' Chapel.