Hereford monastery given £700,000 grant for restoration works

A monastery in Hereford has been given £700,000 by the Heritage Lottery Fund to provide for restoration works to its church and to encourage more visitors.

Belmont Abbey will receive the generous grant for the celebrated Abbey Church, which was built in 1854.

The church is still used by the monastic community for daily services as well as by the local parish.

The money will also be used to help develop a display to showcase some of the Abbey's historic artefacts. It will also be put towards the enlargement of its educational work and improve wheelchair access.

Father Paul Stonham, the Abbot of Belmont, told the BBC: "The Abbey Church is a very important Victorian, Gothic building.

"Quite an important amount of restoration work needs to be done to the roof for example.

"But also part of the grant is to provide better facilities - rather mundane things like a lavatory near the church, which we don't have."
News
Active faith linked to happier marriages and lower divorce rates, study finds
Active faith linked to happier marriages and lower divorce rates, study finds

People who regularly attend church are more likely to report happy marriages, according to a new report examining the relationship between faith and family life.

Indian churches fearing anti-conversion laws tell non-Christians: enter at your own risk
Indian churches fearing anti-conversion laws tell non-Christians: enter at your own risk

Churches in Dhamtari, a town in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh, have put up notices warning non-Christians that they enter at their own risk, weeks after a law against religious conversion came into force in the state.

£1k bursaries to help churches develop youth and community mentoring programmes
£1k bursaries to help churches develop youth and community mentoring programmes

Churches across the UK are being offered bursaries to help them establish mentoring programmes aimed at supporting young people and others in their communities.

World Evangelical Alliance celebrates 180th anniversary
World Evangelical Alliance celebrates 180th anniversary

The World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) has held an online celebration to mark its 180th anniversary. Hundreds of people from more than 22 countries attended, and the event was rebroadcast to accommodate different time zones.