Entries are now open for the 2026 Nick Cahill Award which celebrates excellence in design and craftsmanship.

The Diocese of Truro Advisory Committee and Cornwall Council welcome entries for this year’s annual award which commemorates Nick Cahill who died in 2020.

Image shows the memorial outside on grass with trees and blue sky in the background.

A memorial which was entered last year

Described as ‘hugely influential and highly respected member of the heritage community’, Nick was a scholar and authority who was ‘unfailingly generous in sharing his wealth of knowledge and expert opinion, leaving no corner of Cornwall or aspect of our regional heritage and historic environment forgotten’.

The award scheme, established will the full support of Mary and Joe Cahill, reflects Nick’s passion for Cornish churches and chapels.

The award is open to projects carried out on Cornish ecclesiastical buildings or within its settings and associations (graveyards, cemetery buildings, Sunday schools). It will recognise excellence in design and craftsmanship in restoration, conservation and/or improvement projects. Entries are welcome from all faiths and denominations.

The award criteria is deliberately wide-ranging, and entries are encouraged from across diverse areas of work including, but not exclusively:

  • Historic fabric restoration or conservation projects involving traditional craftsmanship
  • Re-ordering schemes, extensions or additions to buildings
  • Sympathetic conversion of redundant ecclesiastical buildings or spaces
  • Environmental improvements including renewable energy and habitat creation
  • Accessibility improvements
  • Community volunteering, training and skills development in conservation or preservation associated with a specific project benefitting an ecclesiastical building, its setting or associations
  • Newly commissioned artwork or installations such as stained glass and memorials
  • Newly commissioned collections such as candlesticks, vestments, sculpture, paintings and furniture

Completed entries must be submitted by 19 April 2026.

For full terms and conditions and details on how to enter please email Paul Holden, DAC chairman Paul.holden@trurodiocese.org.uk