Gloucestershire Historic Churches Trust have launched a special fundraising appeal to celebrate their 40th birthday.

They are aiming to raise an extra £1,000 for each of their 40 years, making a total of £40,000 on top of their usual fundraising efforts. This will enable the Trust to support more renovations and improvements to churches across the county.

In addition, the Trust is publishing Simon Jenkins’ Favourite Churches of Gloucestershire and Bristol. This is a local edition of his England’s Thousand Best Churches which highlights some of the most interesting historic churches in our area. The book is being sent free to Trust supporters and copies are also available through the GHCT website at ghct.org.uk/40th-appeal.

Colin Senior, chair of the Trust, has high hopes for 2021 and said: “We are looking forward to this being the best year yet for fundraising, so that we can continue to ensure that our local churches, chapels and meeting houses are around for future generations to enjoy. The 40th appeal, combined with the brilliant special edition of Simon Jenkin’s book, are providing new interest in our vital work”.

Grants from the Trust have helped fund many vital projects in Gloucestershire and North Bristol over the last 40 years. These include roof repairs, restoring historic wall paintings, and improving accessibility. To find out more about the work of the Trust visit ghct.org.uk.

The Annual General Meeting of the Trust is at 5pm on June 15 on Google Meet – a link to join can be found on the Trust website.