SEVEN churches across our diocese share a windfall of almost £1m in the latest grants rounds from the Heritage Lottery Fund which will see church buildings, church yards and church communities renewed for future generations.
Four churches have benefited from the Places of Worship Round 1 grants.
St Mary’s Church, Middleton, Leeds – classified by English Heritage as a “building at risk” is awarded £115,400 for vital structural work.
Vicar, the Revd Andy Myers said: “St Mary's has been serving the people of Middleton for almost 170 years and has a huge significance for them - it’s where many choose to have weddings, christenings and funerals.
“Securing this grant now means the faithful congregation of worshippers can rejoice in the certainty that St Mary's will have an assured future, proclaiming by its lovely presence the faithfulness of God and the truth of the Good News of Jesus Christ in challenging times.”
In the Huddersfield Area, St John the Baptist, Coley near Halifax is awarded £170,500 and St Thomas’s Church Huddersfield, gets £244,500 which will fund a new roof and enable the church to tell the story of the building and the local Starkey family who founded it. The vicar, Fr Leslie Pinfield, said the announcement of the grant was like Easter and Christmas coming all at once.
He said: “ This is wonderful news. With water coming in everywhere we knew that the roof was deteriorating quickly and in urgent need of renewing, but the sheer size, and the cost of the materials so great that without the help of the HLF we would not have been able to do this on our own.
“Once this work is complete and the church is once again watertight, we can get on with other restoration work that is badly needed, and so not only preserve and interpret the heritage for future generations but also improve the facilities for all our many users.
In the Ripon Area, the ancient St Michael’s Church Well, near Bedale, is to receive is a grant of £124,400 for vital repairs. There has been a church in Well for more than nine hundred years and it appears on the Domesday Book. The present church building was built around 1330 on Saxon foundations.
The Priest in Charge, David Cleeves said: “This is wonderful news and will enable us to secure the future of this historic and beautiful Grade 1 listed Church, so to continue a place where the people of Well can join together to worship and bring their joys and sorrows to God as they have done for many centuries.”
Three churches were granted Our Heritage Awards.
In the Huddersfield Area, Thornhill Parish Church, Dewsbury was granted £61,900 to restore it’s historic J.J. Binns organ - which dates from 1904 – and to develop a musical programme to involve the whole community in learning and participating in more live music. Commenting on the scheme , the Rector, the Revd Sue Clarke and Brian Pearson, the Project Manager, said: ‘We are excited that the Heritage Lottery Fund is making a continued commitment to this fine building and the local community by supporting this project.”
In the Huddersfield Area, the Friends of St Matthew’s Churchyard have been granted £14,700 to restore the churchyard at Lightcliffe.
In Leeds, the 12th century St Wilfrid’s Church, Calverley is awarded £39,100 for a heritage project focussed on its tower that will enable visitors and school children to get up close to its history, including its stained glass windows, by providing a mezzanine floor in the tower which will house a heritage area, plus a servery and toilets.
The vicar, the Revd Phil Arnold, said: “The church is a centre of community activity in Calverley and that will be enhanced by this project. Volunteers will develop new skills and an increased understanding of the conservation of stained glass. The creation of a heritage trail for schools will help children to learn more about the church, its history and its value to their community, and improved facilities and accessibility will allow us to offer much greater opportunities for community involvement and events.”
St Wifrid's Picture credit Bruce Greer.