EIGHT historic churches at risk of closure, or with urgent repair needs, have been awarded a share of £1.25 million from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, it was announced on Monday.
The grants are part of the Fund’s previously announced three-year £15-million investment in places of worship, improving sustainability, accessibility, and visitor experience, among other areas.
A Grade II listed building on Historic England’s At Risk register, St George the Martyr, Queen Square, Holborn, London, is described as “a haven of peace and beauty, a place of sanctuary amidst the bustle of life”, but one “requiring a lot of love and attention. . . It’s now very old and very tired, with broken plaster, peeling paint and inadequate heating.”
The plan is for the parish church, built in in 1723, to be “rooted deep in the local neighbourhood but being here also for the businesses, institutions, and varied communities that make up and pass through the city centre”. It is to receive a development grant of £380,389.
The Stone and Story project at St Martin’s, Bulmer, part of the Howardian Benefice in York diocese, is to receive another of the largest grants, at £248,504. The project includes conserving the 14th-century tower, improving thermal efficiency, opening up the church to more people, strengthening community links, and enhancing access and participation. The church is described as “resembling a very early Christian Church in its modest size, simple arrangements and lack of ornament. Visitors often remark on its godly and peaceful atmosphere.” Castle Howard is in the parish.
All Saints’, Helmsley, also in North Yorkshire, in the National Park, has been given just over £138,000 to support the conservation of its Edwardian murals. The community describes the Grade II listed church as a place of “friendship and support”. The murals tell the story of how Christianity spread in the area.
“We are thrilled by the award,” a PCC member, Richard Hiscocks, said. It “will allow us to create a detailed plan to restore and preserve our amazing but fragile heritage and to help develop traditional skills locally. We’re extremely grateful to everyone that supports the National Lottery.”
A grant of £30,804 has been awarded for the refurbishment of the tower, spire, and roof of St John the Baptist, Nash, a 13th-century building in the hills of south Shropshire. The repairs would remove it from the At Risk register and “enable the community to connect with its natural and social heritage.
Jesmond United Reformed Church, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, redeveloped from a “dark and foreboding edifice” in 2015, is a well-known concert venue. Its “Discover Jesmond 1888” project with the Anglican St George’s, Jesmond — to save two rare T. C. Lewis pipe organs and to create a heritage trail and events programme to connect the churches and engage the community in their shared heritage — is awarded £163,600.
Light and Life for All, a project at Holt Methodist Church, in Norfolk, involves a plan to update the Grade II listed building for community use, repairing and restoring it to make it more accessible, user-friendly, and “both interesting and practical”. A community audit identified a need for activities and initiatives for children and young people. The project is to receive a development grant of £40,018.
The Greek Orthodox Church of St Basil and St Paisios, Lincoln, moved into its Grade II listed building, the former St Botolph’s, in 2018. It aims to “build a thriving community for Greeks and Greek Cypriots living in the local area as well as visitors”. The project is to receive £51,763 to fund surveys to “understand the growing needs” of the building, which dates from 1721.
Lochwinnoch Parish Church, Renfrewshire, built in 1806, was closed for worship in 2020 and is now on Scotland’s Buildings at Risk register. It is deemed to be in generally sound condition and is up for sale. The Lochwinnoch Community Development Trust plans to buy the building from the Church of Scotland and transform it into a multi-use community hub. It has been awarded a grant of £198,250 to fund the development phase of the restoration. The chair of the Trust, Diarmid Harris, said that the renovation of “our beloved church” would “realise our ambition to reinstate our Kirk at the heart of our community”.
The National Lottery Heritage Fund is celebrating its 30th anniversary (News, 29 November). Since 1994, it has awarded more than £1 billion to more than 8200 places of worship to support restoration and conservation.
Its chief executive, Eilish McGuinness, said: “This announcement is a fantastic way to end what has been an incredible year of celebration. We are delighted to invest in these places of worship, ensuring that their heritage would be valued, cared for, and sustained, for everyone, now and in the future.”