Churches share in repair windfall

Churches across the East Midlands will share in a £1,437,000 grant from a partnership of English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund.

It was announced on Wednesday that 19 churches in Lincs, Notts, Leics, Derbys and Northants will receive grants to carry out restoration work.

The money is available under the Repair Grants for Places of Worship scheme.

The funding was announced at St Mary's Church in Stow, Lincs, a site of architectural importance.

The large Saxon minster church was once the administrative centre of church activities for the north-east of England.

The church has gradually fallen into a state of disrepair and was recently listed as one of the top 100 international endangered sites by the World Monument Fund.

It will now be restored under the repair scheme.