Leeds Minster has received a much-needed grant of £326,237 from the Government’s £1.57billion Culture Recovery Fund to pay for vital roof restoration.
The Minster is one of 445 heritage organisations across the country set to receive a welcome financial boost from the emergency fund help them through the coronavirus pandemic.
A grant of £326,237 has been made to re-lay roofs to the north and east of the building. This work will address long-term repair issues for the church and make a significant contribution to conserving the historic fabric of this Grade1 Listed Building.
Reverend Canon Sam Corley, Rector of Leeds, said:
“We are so pleased to have secured this grant which will help us solve a problem we have been burdened by for years. The essential works to various roofs around the Minster will help make the building watertight and so ensure that the City's heritage is preserved for generations to come.” 
Leeds Minster stands on a site used for Christian worship for over a thousand years and is the birthplace of the City of Leeds. The current church building was opened in 1841, a Victorian Gothic masterpiece designed by architect R D Chantrell and built through the untiring efforts of the Reverend Dr Walter Farquhar Hook, then Vicar of Leeds. An architectural innovation in its day, the church combined Hook’s revolutionary thinking on parish church design with the latest developments in building construction.
The investment programme in the church roofs will help protect the historic interior of the church from the elements. The areas concerned include the Lady Chapel with its wealth of memorials and statues incorporated from the previous church as well as the church tower with its peal of 12 bells.
The works will also enable the church to continue to be open for worship, to welcome visitors from far and wide and to serve the city of Leeds.
:The Government’s Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said:
“As a nation it is essential that we preserve our heritage and celebrate and learn from our past. This massive support package will protect our shared heritage for future generations, save jobs and help us prepare for a cultural bounce-back post Covid.”