Our 16,000 parish churches are among Europe's finest historic buildings and display an unparalleled array of treasures. Caring for these churches and the treasures within them poses many challenges. The size of collections in historic churches is vast, including monuments, wall paintings, stained glass, textiles, medieval timberwork, and many other types of objects. Part of the challenge of looking after these collections is that these treasures are the responsibility of parochial church councils who are volunteers and have many pressing needs on their church's finances. With the help of the dioceses the Church Buildings Council has identified the 100 artworks currently most in need of conservation. In February 2014, the Trustees of the Foundation awarded a one-off grant to the Cathedral and Church Buildings Division towards the conservation of church treasures, including a William Morris carpet at Monkwearmouth, St Andrew, Co.Durham. PRESS RELEASE