Lichfield churches celebrate half million pound windfall

Nine churches in the Diocese of Lichfield are to receive a share of more than half a million pounds in the latest series of grants announced by English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The money is part of more than £15 million being given to 160 Grade I and II* listed places of worship across England. The grants to churches in the Diocese of Lichfield are part of £2 million-worth of funding being shared by 40 churches in the West Midlands.

Churches receive no state aid and rely on the generosity of local people and grants from bodies such as English Heritage. The Church of England is custodian for much of the country's built heritage. In total, some 13,000 of the Church of England's 16,000 buildings are listed by the Government as being of special architectural or historic interest, including 45 per cent of all grade I listed buildings. In the Diocese of Lichfield, some 63 per cent of its 582 church buildings are listed, 167 at grade II, 135 at grade II* and 66 at grade I.

Welcoming the grants, the Archdeacon of Salop, the Venerable John Hall, said: "We are delighted that some of our small rural churches have obtained these grants. They are extremely welcome. They will allow our heritage buildings - many of which are grade I - to be kept in good condition.

"Our churches today are in a much better condition than they have been during the past few years, and this is down to the dedication of small groups of parishioners and the support from English Heritage. While the grants are never enough, we are grateful for all that they are able to allocate to us."

The grants were awarded under the English Heritage and Heritage Lottery Fund's joint Repair Grants for Places of Worship scheme which has awarded grants of £118 million to more than 1,000 Grade I and II* historic places of worship since 2002. The scheme is the largest single source of funds for this kind of work and is heavily oversubscribed, with twice as many applications each year as can be funded.

Tim Johnston, English Heritage regional director for the West Midlands said: "The site of an imposing church on the skyline is a quintessential feature of the English landscape. However, many of these time-worn treasures are only maintained through the hard work of small and hard pressed communities. Today's grants will go some way to providing much-needed support."

The biggest grant in the Diocese of Lichfield has gone to the Church of St James the Great, at Audley, near Stoke on Trent, which is offered £107,000. This grade II* church commands a striking position at the top of the hill, around which the village of Audley has grown. The site also enjoys superb views over the surrounding countryside.

St James the Great is constructed primarily in red ashlar sandstone, with mostly steeply pitched roofs covered in plain clay tiles. It dates from circa 1300 and was then restored and partially rebuilt in 1846 by the great Victorian architect, Sir George Gilbert Scott.

The tower roof will be repaired and the rainwater goods to the aisles and chancel will be overhauled to prevent further saturation of masonry.

Another church to benefit is St Alkmund's Church in Shrewsbury. Five years ago this was heading for closure through a combination of falling congregations, huge repair costs and insufficient money to carry out repairs. Now the church's future is secured and Archdeacon Hall says this is down to the dedication and hard work of the new vicar and the Parochial Church Council.

He says: "The new Vicar, the Revd Richard Hayes, and the PCC have worked tremendously hard to turn the fortunes of this church around; and they have been generously supported by English Heritage who has ploughed money in for the past five years to repair and renew the windows and roof.

"The support of English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund is preserving the past while building for the future."