Cathedral secures top grant award

Lincoln cathedral is undergoing almost constant repairs

Lincoln Cathedral has been awarded £250,000 to help with ongoing conservation and repair work.

This is the maximum amount awarded by a scheme run by English Heritage and the Wolfson Foundation, which has also helped Leicester and Derby cathedrals.

Church authorities said the grant would help maintenance work which costs hundreds of thousands each year.

English Heritage said cathedrals were some of the finest buildings in the country and needed to be cared for.

Lincoln Cathedral is to use the money to repair the south wall of St Hugh's Choir and the clerestory windows, and timberwork in the aisle roof of the southwest transept.

'Remarkable buildings'

Since 1991 the scheme has offered Lincoln Cathedral grants of £4,470,500 in total.

Derby Cathedral will receive £32,000 and Leicester Cathedral £27,000 for repairs to windows and roofs.

Carol Heidschuster, works manager at Lincoln Cathedral, said: "This is wonderful news. The money represents about 25% of the total works budget for the cathedral.

"While £1m may sound a lot on paper, when people appreciate the scale of the building and that the repairs are to last 100 years, it really isn't that much."

The Wolfson Foundation is a grant-making charity which supports education and the arts.

Paul Ramsbottom, the foundation's executive secretary, said: "These buildings are some of the most wonderful in the country and demonstrate the power of our heritage to inspire successive generations.

"Cathedrals sit at the heart of communities: history, culture and religion set in stone.

"It is our hope that the cathedral programme will help to preserve these remarkable buildings for future generations."