The Heritage Lottery Fund is today announcing £500,000 of funding for the East Midlands’ historic churches, securing the future of three places of worship that are in urgent need of repair.

The funding will allow vital repair works to these important buildings, help them provide better facilities and make the churches more suitable for wider community use.

Vanessa Harbar, Acting Head of HLF East Midlands, said: “Places of worship are among the UK’s most historic buildings, with fascinating stories behind them. This money will pay for urgent repairs, whilst also helping to tell the stories of these special places to visitors. As a result the buildings themselves will be more used by the whole community, and properly cared for into the future.”

HLF Grants for Places of Worship announced today include:

St Vincent’s Church, Caythorpe, Lincolnshire, £194,800
A grant of £194,800 has been awarded to the Grade I listed St Vincent’s Church in Caythorpe, Lincolnshire. The church was adopted by the 216 Parachute Regiment Signals Squadron as their mother church following 'Operation Market Garden', the daring but ultimately unsuccessful attempt by allied troops to capture bridges in the German-occupied Netherlands during the Second World War. The squadron was billeted in the village prior to the drop and two stained glass windows in the church are dedicated to the regiment. The grant will help pay for urgent works and a programme of activities to help villagers research the church’s historical links.

Church of St Mary and St Lawrence, Bolsover, £171,200
This Grade II* listed Anglican church sits on the site of an original Saxon place of worship and would have once stood in the bailey of Bolsover's Norman castle. It has suffered the effects of heavy mining in the town and the tower in particular has suffered significant movement over the years. It has been awarded £171,200 for urgent repair works.

St Peter’s Church, Tilton-on-the-Hill, £153,500
This Grade I listed church is already included in the Heritage at Risk Register. It contains several significant features including gargoyles, corbels and the tombs of the Digby family, two of which date back to 1269. It has been a landmark for travellers for over 900 years and is important to the village landscape. It has been awarded £153,000 for urgent repair works.

Further information

HLF press office: Natasha Hughes or Tom Williams on 020 7591 6143 / 6056.