‘Gateways to our shared heritage and vibrant community life’
The National Lottery Heritage Fund has announced £7.4m of funding for four historic churches, and former churches, to secure their futures, share their heritage and create opportunities and much-needed spaces for communities.
In London, the £4.6m funding marks a significant milestone for the Jewel in the Strand project which will restore and redevelop the 18th century building and gardens of Grade I Listed St Mary le Strand.
In the heart of London surrounded by galleries, theatres and restaurants and in a newly pedestrianised area, St Mary le Strand has millions of passersby each year.
The project will enable the church to welcome more of these people through its doors and become a focal point of Westminster’s growing cultural hub.
The 300-year history of the church will be a golden thread throughout the project. As well as restoring the historic building, the project will explore the stories of the people who have passed through its doors and lived or worked on its doorstep.
Activities will include following in the footsteps of those who have walked the historic processional route (which includes St Mary le Strand) between Westminster and the City.
There’ll also be an opportunity to carry out research into the lives of the people who’re buried in the Crypt, exploring its role as the official church of the Association of Wrens and Women of the Royal Naval Services.
‘We are hugely grateful to the players of the National Lottery,’ says Canon Peter Babington, Priest in Charge of Mary le Strand.
‘This generous grant will help transform St Mary le Strand for generations to come and to become once again the Jewel in the Strand.”
The National Lottery funding will help to open up accessible spaces for communities and groups of all faiths and backgrounds to use the historic building.
It’ll enable partnerships to be built with neighbouring Somerset House, Strand 180 and Kings College London. It’ll also create opportunities for volunteers, students and young people to get involved in the future of St Mary le Strand.
‘St Mary le Strand is a much-loved landmark at the heart of the Northbank district and the transformed Strand Aldwych, and we are delighted to see this wonderful funding awarded,’ explains Ruth Duston OBE, OC, Chief Executive of London Heritage Quarter.
‘This investment will not only help secure the church’s future but will also enrich the cultural life of the area for everyone who lives, works and visits here.’
Carols service at St Mary le Strand, London which has been awarded £4.6m by The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Image: © David Parry (provided by The National Lottery Heritage Fund).
‘Funding for these four places of worship will truly put community at their heart’
Other sites receiving funding include St Mary Magdalene in Stockland Bristol, Somerset. The Grade II Listed church has been awarded just over £2 million.
The money will help to make vital structural repairs to its tower and roof as well as improving facilities and accessibility for visitors. The ‘Parallel Lives’ project aims to remove the building from Historic England’s ‘At Risk’ register.
National Lottery funding will enable the church to deliver a wide range of community outreach and activities, including: tackling social isolation with Talking Cafes and wellbeing activities.
There will be learning opportunities, including stone masonry and glass conservation; outdoor activities in partnership with the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust.
The project will launch a research programme into the church’s historical links to the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans, ensuring this part of its story is shared.
‘Places of worship are among the UK’s most treasured historic landmarks, serving as gateways to our shared heritage and vibrant community life,’ says Eilish McGuinness, Chief Executive of The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
‘Thanks to National Lottery players, these grants will allow each place of worship to take ambitious steps to reimagine how these spaces can inspire and benefit the people around them.’
‘The festive period is a time when many people come together, and the funding for these four places of worship will truly put community at their heart and secure a sustainable future.’
‘This investment ensures their heritage will be protected, celebrated, and enjoyed by everyone, now and for generations to come.’
St Monans Auld Kirk in Fife. Image: © Tom Manley (provided by The National Lottery Heritage Fund).
Helping to secure a church’s future in the community
The lottery investment is set to make a difference across the nation. A Grade II Listed church, in South Shropshire, is being awarded £561,305 to repair its tower, south nave roof and its rare early Reformation spire which dates to 1562.
The vital restoration work to St John the Baptist Church in Nash will remove it from Historic England’s ‘At Risk’ register and secure its future in the community.
Activities will include making bird and bat boxes out of the spire’s redundant cladding, botanical art workshops of the churchyard flowers and a community needlework project to repair the embroidery on its Victorian altar frontals.
Development funding of £115,841 is also being awarded to St Monans Auld Kirk in Fife. It’s envisaged that the money will help develop plans to restore the Category A-listed medieval church – one of the oldest in Scotland. It’s hoped it’ll be transformed into a social hub, café and heritage destination.
Since 1994, The National Lottery Heritage Fund has awarded more than £1billion to more than 8,200 places of worship projects.
Supporters say the funds have helped to restore and conserve some of the UK’s oldest and most cherished buildings, including facilitating the removal of many from the UK’s ‘At Risk’ registers.
The Heritage Fund’s National Lottery Heritage Grants programme is open for applications and any place of worship in the UK, of any religion, faith or denomination.
Breaktime News recently reported on The National Lottery Heritage Funds allocation of £13.7 million for the transformation of the RAF Museum Midlands in Cosford and the creation of a Royal Marines Experience at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.
