Who we are
For the Trustees, St Helens holds a special place in our family life and for the local community. There have been weddings, funerals, Easter and Christmas services and many other events held in its walls. It holds our past and our future.
The building, however, is in need of maintenance and resources are limited. We have therefore established the Friends of St Helen’s Church with the purpose of raising money for urgent capital works and have incorporated a charity called “The Friends of St Helen’s Church (IOW)” as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (or “CIO”) - charity number 1202450 - for this purpose.
The CIO is a small charity whose purpose is to:
We are committed to maintaining our beautiful historic building and sensitively enhancing it so that it remains open for anyone who wishes to enter at any time of day.
![FOSH [3] East Window](https://sthelenschurchiow.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/FOSH-3-East-Window-scaled.jpg "FOSH [3] East Window")
Fundraising Event
Visit St Helens Castle Garden on Saturday 21st June 2025
A unique opportunity to visit St Helens Castle Garden by kind permission of the owners, Jason and Kate Gatenby. All proceeds for the benefit of The Friends of St Helen's Church, Isle of Wight (charity number 1202450) in aid of urgent repairs of St Helen's Church roof.
![FOSH [7] Church and daffodils](https://sthelenschurchiow.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/FOSH-7-Church-and-daffodils-scaled.jpg "FOSH [7] Church and daffodils")
The Church
This beautiful 'church on the hill' has been here since 1717, surrounded by a large graveyard that has an abundance of wildflowers in the late spring and glow worms in June and July.
St Helens is an eco church and has received a Gold Eco-Church Award. It supports this work with a regular monthly gathering. The National Churches Trust noted, regarding St Helens: “Spectacular stained glass... enchanting atmosphere... wildlife haven... and social heritage stories".
Trustees
Each of the Trustees is passionate about St Helens Church and wishes to see this place of worship, celebration, mourning and reflection survive and thrive for future generations. We are committed to maintaining our beautiful historic buildings and sensitively enhancing them so they remain open for anyone who wishes to enter at any time of day.
We seek to ensure that this building can remain open for baptisms, blessings, weddings and funerals and remain relevant and personal to all who attend.
James
Proctor
Trustee
Member of St Helens Parochial Church Council
Christopher
Garnett
Trustee
Perdita
Gergaud
Chair
Trustee
Tim
Lyle
Treasurer & Secretary
Trustee
The Work and Worship of St Helens
Each of the Trustees is passionate about St Helens Church and wishes to see this place of worship, celebration, mourning and reflection survive and thrive for future generations. We are committed to maintaining our beautiful historic buildings and sensitively enhancing them so they remain open for anyone who wishes to enter at any time of day.
We seek to ensure that this building can remain open for baptisms, blessings, weddings and funerals and remain relevant and personal to all who attend.
Make a Donation
Current Fundraising Target
We are seeking donations and monthly/annual contributions from those who have associations with St Helens and value its role in the community.
We are currently fundraising for the roof of St Helen's Church
The last Quinquennial report on St Helen’s Church states that the roof is in need of attention and that it will become more urgent as time goes on and will be high on the list of priorities by the time of the next Quinquennial in 2026.
The roof on the vestry and the north side of the chancel are in very poor condition. The south side was repaired about 12 years ago.