Hoare Trust

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Elizabeth Hoare (1919 – 2001) owned Watts & Co. She was a granddaughter of George Gilbert Scott Jr, one of Watts’s founders. Her enthusiasm for traditional embroidery led to the Elizabeth Hoare Gallery at Liverpool Cathedral.  Readers may be interested in her obituary in The Daily Telegraph and The Independent.  She created The Hoare Trust which is managed by The Society of the Faith.

The Society can award modest grants from The Hoare Trust towards the acquisition or conservation of high quality church furnishings.  These include eucharistic vestments, copes, altar frontals, pulpit and lectern falls, tabernacle veils and processional banners.  In all cases, items need to be in use or intended to be put into use in a church or chapel and the parish should be in financial need.  Given that income from the Hoare Trust endowment is small grants are rarely large enough to cover the total cost of a project.  Since 2006 two grants have been made for £1,000 and two for £250.

Applications for a grant should be submitted by, as appropriate, an incumbent, priest in charge, chaplain or church officer and be accompanied by an estimate of the cost and a colour photograph.  In cases involving conservation, a methodology statement from the conservator will also be needed.  Information about the finances of the parish will also be required.

Whilst each application will be considered on its merits, the following criteria apply in all cases which relate to the conservation of existing furnishings :

1. Work must usually be undertaken by a trained conservator approved by the MGC or accredited to UKIC standards.

2. A grant will be made only where the work is to be conserved and not where work is to be ‘reinterpreted’ or completely ‘restored’.

3. As much of the original material as possible, including fringes and tassels, should be retained.

4. Only natural materials should be used, replacing like with like.  In cases where it is proposed that the ground fabric be replaced, a fabric of the same material, colour, quality and style in keeping with the original should be used.

5. The object should be made up to the same manner and weight as the original.  Replacement linings should be of the same material, quality, weight and in the same number of layers as in the original.  If, however, an item is to be recouched, the supportive couching will be accepted as a layer in its own right.

6. All stitching should be by hand, except when joining loom widths, where machine stitching is acceptable.

7. Complex repair work, such as remounting, should only be undertaken by trained conservators.

For an application form please click here – Hoare Trust form

The Society of the Faith itself can also provide grants for he acquisition or conservation of high quality church furnishings.

If you care for church linen you will find Church Linen, Vestments and Textiles by Margery Roberts and published by the Society to be of great use.