MP for Beverley and Holderness, Graham Stuart, has celebrated that Beverley Minster and St Mary’s Church, also in Beverley, are to benefit from over £700,000 of government funding to help restart vital restoration of the cherished sites.
The newly awarded money will go towards replacing some of Beverley Minster’s lead roof and guttering, which follows on from another lottery-funded project to replace failed leadwork and gutters due to be completed this autumn.
St Mary’s Church, meanwhile, will benefit from extensive repairs to its stonework as a result of the funding including work in the remaining vulnerable part of its Tudor nave.
Graham said;
“This is fantastic news for the Minster and St Mary’s. The extra funding from the Government goes a long way to meeting the substantial costs of maintaining and renovating these beautiful buildings, which are such an important part of the town.
“With the help of this extra money, they can be enjoyed by generations to come – not just as places of prayer but as architectural wonders. It also has the added benefit of protecting the livelihoods of heritage specialists and many other contractors who have had a difficult few months with very little work going.”
The money, comprising of £600,724 for Beverley Minster and £139,280 for St Mary’s Church, has come from the government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund – the largest ever single investment into heritage, culture and the arts in the UK.
Grants of up to £1 million will deliver a lifeline for the heritage sector in England, with further support to follow and larger grants for capital projects awarded through the Government’s Heritage Stimulus Fund.
Beverley Minster and St Mary’s Church are two of just 445 heritage sites across the country to benefit from an emergency grant in the first major tranche of this Government fund.
Oliver Dowden MP, the Culture Secretary, added: “It’s essential that we preserve our heritage and celebrate and learn from our past. This will help to protect jobs as well as our shared heritage for future generations.”