Advertisement
News

£8.3 million in funding for 31 English Cathedrals

The First World War Centenary Cathedral Repairs Fund announced last month that they will be giving out £8.3 million to help 25 Church of England and six Catholic cathedrals undertake repairs and restorations.

Ripon Cathedral -  photo by Soloist at en.wikipedia

The grants ranged between £15k and £600k and will go towards repairs to roofs, stonework and structural work as well as detailed work on intricate stained glass windows. It comes from a fund established last year by the British government, which will allocated £20 million overall by 2016.

Advertisement

George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer, explained, “Many Britons will have visited a cathedral this summer to attend a remembrance service marking the Great War, and this £8m grant, part of £20m I announced at the last Budget, will ensure that these beautiful and historic buildings remain much loved places of worship and remembrance for another century to come. Our great cathedrals are the envy of the world, bringing many tourists to the cities of UK, so this investment is also great value for taxpayers.”

Chester Cathedral will be receiving £216,000 that will be put towards repairing three medieval crypts which are currently waterlogged and inaccessible for the public. Meanwhile, Ripon Cathedral was allocated £354,617 so they could repair the crumbling stonework of the north east corner of the building, including replacing some of the cathedral’s gargoyles.

Advertisement

Exeter Cathedral is receiving £277,000 to undertake repairs to their roof and drainage system. The Dean of Exeter, Jonathan Draper, told the BBC “We’re a self-financing organisation and that’s quite a challenge, so this kind of money coming at this particular time enables a really big and important piece of work to be done on the building to preserve it for another 900 years, we hope. Somehow, and we’re not sure why – that’s part of the project we’re going to do – water is getting into the wall and forcing itself through the stonework which is causing it to crumble and slowly deteriorate to nothing.”

The Bishop of Worcester, Rt Revd Dr John Inge, lead bishop for Cathedrals and Church Buildings, added, “Cathedrals are a success story, not just for the Church but for the cities where they are located and the millions of people who enjoy their architectural splendour, magnificent music and open welcome each year. It is entirely appropriate that the government has recognised that in supporting cathedrals, they are also supporting local communities across England. The outcome of these grants will have echoes far beyond mere building works. It is an investment in beautiful places which in turn support and encourage the people amongst whom they minister, making a significant contribution to human flourishing in each of our cathedral cities and beyond.”

Click here to see a full list of Cathedrals receiving funding

See also Quiz: Which Cathedral in England is this?

Advertisement