English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) today (Tuesday, 3 March) announced more than £15.5 million to support urgent repair work to 150 Grade I and II* listed places of worship across England. The grants were awarded under the organisations' joint Repair Grants for Places of Worship scheme.
Eleven grants, totalling £829,000 have been made in all parts of the North West as follows:
St Peter's CE, Ashton under Lyne, Tameside: £67,000
St Mary the Virgin CE, Bosley, Macclesfield, Cheshire: £58,000
St John the Baptist CE, Chester: £75,000
Brookfield Unitarian Church, Gorton, Manchester: £30,000
St Stephen and All Martyrs CE, Lever Bridge, Bolton: £188,000
St John the Baptist CE, Preston: £60,000
St John CE, Silverdale, Lancaster: £63,000
St Mary CE, Stockport: £226,000
St John the Baptist CE, Tuebrook, Liverpool: £112,000
St James, Whitehaven, Cumbria: £37,000
St Mary CE, Wigton, Allerdale, Cumbria: £23,000
Brookfield Unitarian Church stands at the end of an extensive churchyard with areas of woodland containing numerous burials and mature deciduous trees among uncontrolled undergrowth. Commissioned and endowed by engineer Richard Peacock the church was built to the design of Thomas Worthington in 1869-71. The church is well constructed in resilient stone and there is little indication of stone decay but pointing is in variable condition, though it is not thought to be the cause of damp penetration which affects several areas of the church. Ridge pointing has failed and lead flashings and valleys are suspect.
The largest North West grant is for St Mary's church in Stockport for masonry repairs to the north face of the tower. Previous grants have contributed to the full restoration of the south and west faces of the tower. The most serious defects are in the high level stone details such as pinnacles, filials, battlement merlons and other projecting features. The clock faces have stone surrounds which have cracked, with pieces falling off. The church is listed Grade I and is in the centre of the Market Place conservation area with the east end chancel dating from the early 14th century.
The majority of recipients this year are Anglican churches, but there are also buildings belonging to other denominations and faiths. These range from the impressive New West End synagogue in London to St John's Methodist Church in St Austell, Cornwall.
Dr Simon Thurley, Chief Executive of English Heritage, said "From the rural parish churches of Norfolk to the splendour of the New West End Synagogue in London's Bayswater, England's places of worship face some serious challenges. These grants will fund urgent repairs so that these wonderful buildings which are so central to this country's heritage and identity can remain in use."
Sara Hilton, Head of the Heritage Lottery Fund for the North West, said: "Historic places of worship are often a focus for the whole community, both as historic landmarks and venues for important life events. We are proud to be helping to secure their future by concentrating on the most urgent repair needs and so making a crucial difference to their long-term survival."
Diana Evans, English Heritage's Head of Places of Worship, said: "Each of these buildings, like the thousands of Places of Worship throughout the country, has huge local and national significance. English Heritage greatly admires the faithful work done by volunteers to care for them, keeping them in use for worship and countless other activities that sustain the buildings and enhance community life."
Since 2002, £107.7 million of grants have been awarded to almost 1,200 Grade I and II* historic places of worship through the partnership scheme, which is the largest single source of funds to help congregations to care for historic churches, chapels, synagogues and other historic places of worship. Even so, the scheme remains heavily oversubscribed, with twice as many applications each year as can be funded.
English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund have jointly supported places of worship for more than 10 years and both organisations recognise the importance of enabling much-needed repairs to take place. This year the total amount available under the scheme is £25 million. £7.5 million of this will go to Grade II places of worship in May.
