St Paul’s Church at Masbrough and The Lady Chapel on the Bridge at Rotherham are celebrating after receiving almost £10,000 from the YHCT for vital repair works.
The award was made at the recent Grants Committee, which saw over £60,000 allocated to fifteen of the region’s most vulnerable places of worship.
Built in 1902, St Paul’s is a large church that plays an important part in the local community. Weather and general wear and tear has led to the severe decay of the church’s roof and the YHCT were delighted to award £5,000 towards the cost of the vital roof repairs.
Rev Phil Batchford priest in charge at St Paul’s said: “St Paul’s is a real hub of community life and we are delighted to have received this funding. Once the repair works have been undertaken and we are able to meet again, we look forward to re-opening and continuing to offer a range of activities to the local community.”
In contrast, the Grade I listed Chapel of our Lady on Rotherham Bridge was built in 1483 and is one of only four surviving medieval bridge chapels in the country. Originating as a place of worship, it has held many guises, including as an Almshouse, a jail, a tobacconist and newsagent. In 1901 a petition was signed by nearly 1000 Rotherham residents demanding the building was restored as a place of worship. Thanks to a bequest of £500 by Sir Charles Stoddart, the Chapel was reconsecrated in 1924.
An award of £4800 from the YHCT will go towards the replacement of the hood mould over the main entrance to the Chapel.
Tom Ramsden, chairman of the YHCT said “We have tough decisions to make as we always receive requests for more funding than we can award, but each of the churches we fund have shown how important they are in the local community, and it is vital that these much loved places of worship are preserved so they remain standing for centuries to come”. He continued: “We rely on the generosity of friends and donors to help fund repairs which will ensure Yorkshire’s churches and Chapels remain standing from many years to come.”