Churches in region get more than £1.5m for repairs

SIXTEEN of Yorkshire's churches are to have more than £1.5m spent on restoring them, it was announced yesterday.

English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund's joint Repair Grants for Places of Worship scheme will allow those who look after the Grade II listed places of worship in the Yorkshire and the Humber region to stop the rot.

One of those churches targeted by the organisations is St Cuthbert's Church in Birkby, Huddersfield, which has been pledged a grant of 173,000 to help with urgent repairs.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The money will be used to repair a badly leaking roof, with further works planned to repair guttering, plastering and masonry.

Trevor Mitchell, English Heritage Regional Director for Planning and Development, said: "This vital grant will give St Cuthbert's a new lease of life by tackling the leaking roof, which if left unchecked will continue to cause serious damage to the interior.''

St Cuthbert's was founded in 1926 and completed 30 years later.

The Rev Mary Railton-Crowder, from St Cuthbert's, commented: "A recent fabric survey said that unless we got the roof repaired the church would be unusable in less than eight years so this scheme is crucial.''

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Grant offers which have been made elsewhere in the region include: St Andrew, Ulrome, East Riding – 86,000; St John the Evangelist, Whitby – 199,000; St Mary's, Arkengarthdale, North Yorkshire – 24,000; All Saints, Slingsby, North Yorkshire – 69,000; St Luke, New Rossington, Doncaster – 127,000; Sacred Heart Church, Sheffield – 5,000; St Peter, Hoyland, Barnsley – 147,000; Bullhouse Chapel, Penistone, South Yorkshire – 80,000; Harden Congregational Church, Harden, West Yorkshire – 125,000; St Thomas, Batley, West Yorkshire – 105,000; Christ Church, Staincliffe, Kirklees, West Yorkshire – 125,000; St James, Kirklees, – 4,000; Hope Baptist Church, Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire – 138,000; St Mark, Woodhouse, Leeds – 171,000; St Luke, Holbeck, Leeds – 94,000.