Grants totalling £332,000 are to be given to nine historic English churches in need of urgent repair.
The churches are:
- Cheshire's St Peter`s Church in Congleton is set to benefit from a £45,000 grant towards a new roof, replacing failing concrete tiles that were fitted in the 1950s. Robust weatherproofing will help protect the region's largest collection of original Georgian furnishings in a church.
- West Yorkshire's Holy Trinity Church in Ossett is set to benefit from a £15,000 grant towards urgent repair and restoration work on the magnificent stained glass East Window.
- South Yorkshire's Minster and Parish Church of St George in Doncaster is set to benefit from a £75,000 grant towards urgent repairs to the north transept of the 155-year-old building, addressing significant deterioration around the stained glass windows, limestone structure, down pipes and the roof.
- Cumbria's St Andrew's Church in Dent is set to benefit from a £15,000 grant towards vital repairs to the Tower and Bier room roof to prevent water ingress, which will mark the first phase in improving the building for wider public use.
- Cumbria's St James's Church in Burton in Kendal has been awareded a £30,000 grant from WREN that will go towards replacing lead flashings on the Tower roof, and repairs and repointing to the stone work on the Tower walls to prevent further damp ingress.
- Warwickshire's St Nicholas Church in Warwick is set to benefit from a £60,000 grant. Situated at the heart of the historic town of Warwick, Grade 1 listed St Nicholas Church is both a friendly place of worship and busy community facility. WREN's much needed grant will fund high level and parapet stonework repairs on the south side of the Nave, along with re-leading to three large stained glass windows and the replacement of five stone pinnacles.
- Lincolnshire's St Michael's and All Angels Church in Edenham is set to benefit from a £25,000 grant. Currently on the English Heritage `at risk` register, WREN's funding will help towards urgent lead and timber repairs to the North Aisle roof, Chancel roof and South Aisle roof.
- Lincolnshire's St Thomas Church in Burton le Coggles is set to benefit from a £15,000 grant. The church, which dates from the 11th and 12th Centuries, will use the funding from WREN towards repointing stonework, repairs to the east face of the Tower and lead renewal on the North Aisle roof.
- Cambridgeshire's St Mary the Virgin Church in Farcet is set to benefit from a £30,000 grant. As a result of the very dry summer in 2011, dangerous cracks have appeared in the walls. These have been monitored for some years and, with the help of a conservation architect, the church has now managed to obtain a repair grant from WREN, which will go towards addressing serious structural movement problems affecting the base of the church.
They have been awarded the WREN Heritage grants on the recommendation of the National Churches Trust.
WREN awards grants to community, conservation and heritage projects within a 10-mile radius of landfill sites, from funds donated by FCC Environment to the Landfill Communities Fund.
Peter Cox, managing director of WREN, said: "We're delighted to support the restoration of these historic English churches and look forward to seeing the projects progress.
"At WREN we are dedicated to making a real difference to people's lives by awarding grants to community, environmental and heritage projects across the UK. It is so important to protect significant historical sites such as these churches to ensure that they can be appreciated by future generations."
Claire Walker, Chief Executive of the National Churches Trust said: "England's churches are a unique part of our national story. We are delighted to be working with WREN to help identify historic churches which need funding for urgent repairs.
"In recommending churches and chapels for grant funding, we seek well-managed projects that demonstrate benefit to local people and which safeguarding the future of a building. The eligibility criteria we use were developed through research and consultation with churches and experienced individuals and organisations in the church heritage sector. This means WREN can award grants with confidence to projects we recommend.
"WREN's latest Heritage grants will help ensure that more churches remain in good repair for worship, of benefit to local people and open to visitors wanting to explore their fascinating architecture and history."
