Repair Grants Boost For Teeside Churches in National Handout

Two Teesside churches have been earmarked for £70,000 worth of grants to carry out urgent repairs

Remains of cloister wall adjoining Church of St Cuthbert and St Mary, Worksop Priory ©English HeritageEnglish 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.

The 18th century St Cuthbert' Church, Kirkleatham, near Redcar, is set to receive £41,000, the biggest award in the region, with another £29,000 outlined for All Saints, Stranton, near Hartlepool.

The site at St Cuthbert's has been hallowed ground since the 9th century when St Cuthbert monks used it as a resting place. The current church, a Grade I listed building, was built around 1763 and has oak pews. Some of the stone walling was ballast from old sailing ships.

The money will cover repairs in and around the altar as well as the slated roofs and parapets. Funding has also been set aside to investigate dampness from the attached burial chamber.

All Saints, Stranton, is a Grade II listed building dating back to at least the 12th century. Christians have worshipped on the site for more than 1200 years. The whole church was later restored and altered in the 18th century.

Masonry repairs include reslating the south aisle and organ chamber roofs.

The Rev Michael Jackson, St Cuthbert's, said: 'We are not a wealthy parish so this is great news. The roof has been damaged for several years and these repairs are urgently needed. We are very grateful to English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund.'

The majority of recipients this year are Anglican churches, but there are also buildings belonging to other denominations and faiths. All the buildings have rich histories. All these grants will be a massive boost to fundraising efforts to allow crucial and expensive repair work to take place, supporting local initiatives that can be particularly difficult for small communities.

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.'

Ivor Crowther, Head HLF North East Region, said :'These wonderful buildings are often central to community life and play an important role in people's everyday lives, but maintaining them is always a challenge. This substantial investment will help fund the vital repairs necessary to secure their long-term futures.'

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.