The cash from the Heritage Lottery Fund and English Heritage will be a boom to local specialists as repair contracts are let for 153 Grade I and II listed places of worship in England.

Places of worship getting grants for urgent repairs this year include:

• St Wilfrid’s, Halton in Leeds, an Arts and Crafts church built as recently as 1937-39, receiving £498,000 for repairs to roofs and windows
• St Michael and All Angels, Haworth in Yorkshire, the Brontë family’s church, receiving £115,000 towards reroofing the south nave, side aisle and tower
• Church of St Augustine in Ramsgate, Kent, a church designed by AWG Pugin receiving £110,000 for repairs to the roof, the chancel and electrics
• Church of St Catherine, Hoarwithy, Herefordshire, a rare example of a church built in the Italian Romanesque and semi-Byzantine style receiving £80,000 to repair the tower, stonework and floors

Dr Simon Thurley, Chief Executive of English Heritage, said; “Thanks to the generosity of the Heritage Lottery Fund, and ultimately therefore of Lottery players, our historic places of worship in direct need still have the vital safety net of the Repair Grants scheme.

“Without it, many brave but struggling congregations would be faced with watching their beloved churches and chapels falling into ruin.

“Instead, the combination of Heritage Lottery Fund money and English Heritage advice is seeing these wonderful buildings revived and restored and becoming ever more central to their communities as places of prayer and celebration and as a hub for local services.”

Averil Kenyon, Honorary Treasurer at St Michael and All Angels, Haworth, said; “The church roof is leaking badly and that in turn is causing serious damage to 19th century wall paintings inside.

“Overall we will need about £240,000 to complete the project, which will be the first large scale repairs carried out on the roof since the 19th century.  But getting this grant under our belts is a tremendous lift and will give us more leverage with other grant giving bodies.”