Church of England Cathedrals and churches were among nearly 5,000 religious buildings to receive a share of up to £42 million in Government funding aimed at helping with the conservation of listed places of worship.
The Listed Places of Worship (LPW) Grant Scheme gives grants covering the VAT on repairs to listed buildings used as places of worship.
Beneficiaries of the scheme over the last year included Leicester Cathedral, which received more than £600,000 for restoration work, including renewing the Cathedral’s heating, lighting and electrics and creating a heritage learning centre for visitors.
Chichester Cathedral, dating from the 11th century, received more than £195,000 for its roof and lighting projects with cash from the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme also supporting organ repair and maintenance, new fire and intruder alarms, and support for other major projects.
The 12th-century Collegiate Church of St Mary in Warwick was granted more than £141,500 to repair its ancient tower, including work on the clocks and faces. Funding also supported the maintenance of electric and heating systems as well as new security and alarm systems.
Emily Gee, Director for Cathedral and Church Buildings for the Church of England said: “Our churches and cathedrals provide spiritual, pastoral and practical support to their communities, and are key to the cultural heritage of the country.
“Their presence boosts local economies and provides jobs and volunteer roles, and in many cases, they are the only publicly open building in their local place, where other amenities have closed.
“More than three quarters of our nearly 16,000 church buildings are listed, meaning they are of great significance to our nation’s heritage.
“We are enormously grateful for the Government’s Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme and the support that it provides in helping our church buildings remain central to the life of this country.”
Karen Rooms, Dean Designate of Leicester Cathedral said: “The Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme is providing vital grant support covering the VAT we incur on the extensive repair work being carried out on our Grade II* listed building as part of our Leicester Cathedral Revealed project.
“We are very grateful for this support which is an essential part of the overall funding package.”
Elizabeth Cranfield, Churchwarden, St Mary’s Church, Hitchin, which received more than £5,000 for work on its church bells, said: “We are very grateful to this scheme for the grants that we have received over the last few years.
“The works have included – replacing crumbling stonework; repairs to leaking roofs and gutters; recasting of the tenor bell and provision of rope guides greatly improving the sound and handling of the ring of 12 bells; installation of a roof alarm.
“These grants have significantly reduced the cost to St Mary’s. It has been easy to use the Scheme and it has undoubtedly supported our vision to keep St Mary’s as a beautiful place of Christian witness for the town and beyond.”
Ruth Bamford, Communar and Bursar for Chichester Cathedral said:
“Recent projects supported by the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme include the complete replacement of the old leaky copper roof with a new lead one. We are also upgrading the Cathedral’s internal lighting scheme replacing old lights and cabling with a bespoke LED scheme. The new lighting is sympathetic to the building and has reduced energy consumption by 50%.”
John Luxton, Church Warden at Collegiate Church of St Mary in Warwick said: “St Mary’s is incredibly grateful for the support provided by the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme which was critical in enabling the church to raise the funding required to restore the amazing tower of our Grade I listed building.
“I would urge any organisation in a similar position, seeking support, to investigate the scheme and then check out the eligibility criteria.”
