The Stained Glass Centre has secured £8,600 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for a project called ‘Mobilising our Supporters, Empowering our Friends’, which will work with volunteers to launch a new Friends organisation and develop a programme of activities, once again making this ancient building accessible to the community after many decades of closure. The project will enable the Stained Glass Centre to employ a part-time development officer to work with volunteers and supporters in developing a varied and exciting programme of events, lectures, classes, performances and tours based in one of York’s most historic ‘lost’ buildings.
A new Friends organisation will be launched, and training and internship opportunities will be available. Giving new life to one of York’s finest medieval buildings, The Stained Glass Trust, based in the retired historic church of St. Martin-cum-Gregory in York, is developing as a national resource for the discovery and interpretation of stained glass. The building has long been a destination for those interested in this fragile medium. As the Stained Glass Centre, it is developing into a venue in which residents, students and visitors can explore, participate in and learn more about one of the most beguiling of crafts, one that continues to be central to the heritage, culture and economy of the city of York. Now that the future of the building has been secured for public use, a programme of events is bringing people and new life back into the building.
Commenting on the award, Trustee Sarah Brown said: ‘It is wonderful news that we have received the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund in reviving this wonderful building as a resource for the promotion of one of York’s oldest and most important arts and crafts.’ This funding is one of 82 Catalyst heritage: building fundraising capacity small grants totalling over £700,000 being announced today by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). These grants of between £3,000 and £10,000 are helping all kinds of heritage groups across the UK build financial resilience by increasing their fundraising capacity and encouraging more private giving. This programme forms part of a broader initiative between the Department of Culture Media and Sport (DCMS), Arts Council England and HLF designed to diversify the income streams of arts and heritage organisations.