The Government has awarded hundreds of thousands of pounds of repair grants to Catholic cathedrals including Liverpool, Plymouth and Westminster.
The money, amounting to £1,370,230, is the third and final round of grants awarded to cathedrals under the First World War Centenary Cathedral Repairs Fund.
The Chancellor, George Osborne, announced the £20m fund in last year’s budget. Some £3.5m of that has been awarded to Catholic cathedrals over the three rounds, with the rest going to Anglican cathedrals.
Plymouth Cathedral was awarded the largest sum – £398,496 – to fund urgent roof repairs, followed by Shrewsbury Cathedral, which has been awarded £280,866 to help improve access for disabled people.
At Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral a £191,168 grant will be used to restore the multi-coloured stained glass lantern window, as well as to repair the north and south bronze doors.
Norwich, Nottingham and Portsmouth cathedrals have also been awarded money. Westminster Cathedral in London is to receive £100,000 towards its on-going roof repairs.
Archbishop George Stack, Chair of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference Patrimony Committee, said the First World War Centenary grants scheme had greatly helped Catholic cathedrals.
“Many of these cathedrals are situated in inner city areas with the challenges related to their location,” he said. “All of them seek to serve the wider community, often with major problems connected to the maintenance of the fabric of these fine buildings. Urgent works to roofs, stonework as well as access and other essential facilities are ongoing responsibilities for those maintaining these fine buildings.”
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