St John the Baptist in Royston (above) has won £62,000 for repairs
Holy sites across Yorkshire and the Humber will receive "urgent repair work" after being given £2 million in funding under the Repair Grants for Places of Worship scheme.
English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund awarded the grants for 16 Grade I and Grade II places of worship across the counties, targeting eroded features, leaking roofs and crumbling gutters.
They include Norman and Saxon relics from 800 years of history, including the 12th century St Martin’s Church in Seamer, near Scarborough, where the joint announcement was made.
Saltaire United Reform Church will benefit to the tune of £146,000
"This is a truly outstanding Norman church which has stood as part of the community for nearly 1,000 years," said Trevor Mitchell, English Heritage's Regional Director for Planning and Development, pledging £199,000 to renovate the two-and-a-half-foot thick walls and ancient stonework.
"Like many other places of worship it faces a constant battle to keep on top of vital repairs. This grant will go some way to securing the future of St Martin's, ensuring a landmark and centre of spirituality continues to inspire parishioners and passers-by."
Richard Firth, the Assistant Minister at the Church, suggested organisers would have "a battle on our hands" if the condition of the building deteriorated any further.
St Mary's in Thixendale will receive £66,000
"It's so important we get this repair scheme underway," he said.
"St Martin's is a wonderful church, full of history and memory and with an important role in the community, so we are delighted to secure this grant."
Other winners came in Birkby in West Yorkshire, where St John's Church had to be given a £13,000 emergency grant for netting to catch plaster falling from the 158-year-old ceiling. The Grade II-listed site has won a total of £200,000 for repairs and drainage.
St Martin's in Seamer has been granted £199,000
St Clement's, a neo-Gothic church designed by Edward Prioleau Warren in the centre of Bradford in 1892, will also have painted plasterwork, arcade spandrels, wall paintings, mosaic work and stained glass spruced up to the tune of £201,000, and St Mary's – a Grade I-listed Watton church whose 13th or 14th century build date is the subject of debate between experts – has notched £186,000.
"These grants aim to nip problems in the bud like leaking roofs which, if left unchecked, would allow dampness to spread, decaying wonderful interiors and requiring far more costly remedies in the future," added Mitchell.
"Maintaining our historic places of worship is a massive challenge, but the support we have pledged today with the HLF is a token of our on-going commitment to local communities and congregations."
Full list of grants awarded:
West Yorkshire
St John, Birkby £199,000 (plus £13,000 for emergency works now completed)
St Clements, Bradford £201,000
St Michael and All Angels, Thornhill £178,000
Saltaire URC, Saltaire £146,000
St Peters, Huddersfield £144,000
All Saints, Little Horton £111,000
St Mary's, Elland £105,000
East Yorkshire/Humber
St Mary, Swine £110,000
All Saints, Low Catton £105,000
St Mary, Watton, £186,000
North Yorkshire
St Edmund, Kellington £28,000
St Mary, Thixendale, £66,000
St Michael, Crambe £19,000
St Martin, Seamer £199,000
All Saints, Wighill £113,000
South Yorkshire
St John the Baptist, Royston £62,000
