Friday 16 March 2007

Restoration grants earmarked for Scottish churches

A SCOTTISH church featured on the BBC's Restoration Village series is among nine houses of worship that hope to receive a generous gift to its offering plate.

Cromarty East Church received initial financial support - known as a stage one pass - of £641,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund, it was announced today. The church, which is in a perilous state, is thought to date back to medieval times when the area included an economically thriving port.

The lottery money will be used toward restoring the church and will focus on getting people involved and providing opportunities for education. Once complete, the building will be a venue for concerts, occasional worship, weddings and events.

Colin McLean, Heritage Lottery Fund manager for Scotland, said: "There is a huge amount of public support for this building so we are delighted to be involved in saving it. It will be magical to see such an historic church once again take its rightful place as a hub for community life."

The Lottery Fund announced similar grants today for eight other churches around Scotland. They include:

  • St Magnus Scottish Episcopal Church, Lerwick - £125,000
  • Scottish Episcopal Church of St Mary and St Peter, Montrose - £90,000
  • Tillicoultry Parish Church, Tillicoultry - £79,700
  • St Columba's Church, Glenrothes - £95,000
  • Reid Memorial Church, Edinburgh - £27,500
  • St John's Church Renfield, Glasgow - £103,500
  • St Paul's Roman Catholic Church, Whiteinch, Glasgow - £129,000
  • St Teresa's of Lisieux, Possilpark, Glasgow - £142,000

All of the churches received a stage one pass grant from the Lottery Fund. This means that money has been earmarked by the organisation for the project but it must pass a second application before securing the full grant.

Today's awards total £1.4 million. To date, the Lottery Fund has invested in more than £450 million to Scotland's heritage.

(By Will Springer, Scotsman.com - Heritage & Culture - 12 March 2007)

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