Churches get £500k for repairs

The 12 century church has links with the slave trade

Six historic churches across North Yorkshire have been given £500,000 to pay for urgent repairs.

The money has been awarded by English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund to tackle decay on places of worship dating back to Anglo Saxon times.

A £138,000 grant goes to St Andrew's Church in Kirkby Grindalythe, mentioned in the poetry of Sir John Bejteman, to repair roofing and windows.

A spokesman for English Heritage said the cash would have a "massive impact."

Churches to receive funding St Andrews, Dent £168,000 St Columba, Topcliffe, £73,000 All Saints Church, Ingleby Arncliffe, £43,000 St Mary, Wharram le Street, £50,000 St Helen, Stillingfleet, £16,000 St Andrew's Church, Kirkby Grindalythe, £138,000

Despite giving funding to six places of worship in North Yorkshire, the scheme received twice as many applications as can be funded.

Fiona Spiers, regional manager for the Heritage Lottery Fund in Yorkshire, said: "People really care about their local places of worship, which are often a focus of the whole community."