Eighteen places of worship, including some in our diocese, are celebrating this month after receiving over £95,000 from the Yorkshire Historic Churches Trust (YHCT).
Funding has been awarded to places of worship from Sheffield to Hawes and Bridlington to Birkby and includes Anglican, Catholic, United Reformed Churches as well as a City Church, part of the Christ Central group of churches.
One of the churches receiving funding is St John the Evangelist at Birkby, in the Huddersfield area.
The church has a tower housing an octagonal spire that rises 220 feet, almost half the size of Blackpool Tower.
However, the impressive height of the tower brings its own challenges, not least, keeping on top of the maintenance.
The YHCT awarded £5000 towards the cost of an internal spire ladder, to assist with high level access to address wear and tear and therefore preventing future structural deterioration.
Peter Prasadam, churchwarden at the church, said: “This funding from the Yorkshire Historic Churches Trust will make all the difference to us being able to carry out essential maintenance work repairs.
“It will enable us to preserve the Victorian heritage of a very deprived area and also continue our ministry of serving the local community.
“On behalf of all who love and care for St John’s, we are immensely grateful to the Yorkshire Historic Churches Trust.”
Tom Ramsden, Chairman of the YHCT said: “Yorkshire’s places of worship are not only some of the most important examples of our county’s heritage, they also play an increasingly important role in the local communities in which they serve.
“We were delighted to award this funding to St John’s to help them undertake preventive maintenance to preserve the sanctity of building and uphold its role as a centre of worship, community engagement, and cultural heritage.”
The YHCT is a charity whose objective is to help churches in Yorkshire by offering grants for essential conservation, repairs and maintenance.
Through fundraising, donations and membership, the Trust distributes funding to churches and chapels from all Christian denominations and of any age in need of financial assistance to preserve and repair their church.
The YHCT are welcoming applications from places of worship up until Friday, August 22 for the next round of grants, due to be awarded in October 2025.
Trustees are keen to hear from places of worship looking for funding to keep their church and churchyard well-maintained, to prevent future costly repairs, ensure safety and ultimately preserve history.
A list of the grants awarded can be found here.