A national scheme to conserve and repair England’s cathedrals has shared out £2,217,121 across the diocese and helped preserve our highest profile places of worship, says a report published today.
The £40 million First World War Centenary Cathedral Repairs Fund, launched by the Government in 2014, invited applications from Catholic and Church of England cathedrals to address urgent repair works. The fund prioritised making buildings weatherproof, safe and open to the public as well as ensuring they would be in a safe condition to host acts of remembrance for the centenary of the First World War armistice in 2018.
Wakefield Cathedral received a total of £746,934 – this included £218,394 on repairs to the lead roofing, £72,000 on restoring its collection of stained glass – with a further £456,000 specifically used to repair, protect and conserve the windows in the south end.
Wakefield Cathedral has an exceptional collection of 19th century stained glass and is home to one of the most outstanding collections from the studio of the Victorian artist Charles Eamer Kempe.
Canon Tony Macpherson, the acting dean of Wakefield Cathedral said: “The fund has had a tremendous impact on us at Wakefield – not only have we been able to replace most of the failing lead roof and preserve and protect our glass – more importantly it has open up and allowed us new opportunities to engage with our city and beyond.
“This work will have a lasting effect,” he added.
Bradford Cathedral received a total of £566,000 - this included £190,000 for high level repairs to the roof, £349,000 for repairs to its State Gate and £127,000 on a new heating system.
Dean of Bradford, Jerry Lepine said: “We have been hugely grateful for the work at Bradford Cathedral that has been made possible by the World War One Cathedrals Centenary Fund. It has enabled us to attend to significant work that we did not have the resources to do.
"It has meant that the Cathedral has been able to come to the ‘regeneration party’ in Bradford.
"We are part of ‘Team Bradford’ and want to ensure that the oldest open public building in the city is not only open to visitors from near and far, but also presents itself in the best possible light. Funding like this is necessary for heritage buildings, but it also means that the Church of England continues to play a significant role in the life of the city.”
Ripon Cathedral received a total of £783,698 - this included repairs to its North Transept costing £354,580, glazing work worth £31,208 and stonework repairs to the Presbytery priced at £397,910.
Dean of Ripon, John Dobson said: "This gives huge encouragement to all those who care about the mission and ministry of this ancient cathedral.”
In total, of 146 awards were made to 57 cathedrals. Twelve cathedrals were awarded more than £1 million each, and the average award was £274,000. Grants were awarded over two phases between 2014-18.
Today’s independent report shows a significant reduction of problems requiring immediate repair as a result of the investment but warned that recipients all had outstanding repairs in areas not covered by the scheme.
Grants were awarded by an independent panel chaired by Sir Paul Ruddock, a position appointed by the Secretary of State. The Fund was administered by the Church of England’s Cathedrals and Church Buildings Division (CCB) on behalf of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport.
The report concluded that the fund had been successful in achieving its aims and met a funding need that could not be met elsewhere, adding that areas of cathedrals covered by grant-aided projects had been very largely changed from needing urgent repair to needing routine maintenance only.