A much-loved North Yorkshire church is to share in a £507,000 funding payout from the National Churches Trust.
A £25,000 National Churches Trust Cornerstone Grant will help fund a number of general repairs at the Grade I listed Selby Abbey, Selby, making the church watertight and preserving its historic fabric.
Broadcaster and journalist Huw Edwards, Vice President of The National Churches Trust, said: “The UK's historic churches and chapels are a vital part of our national heritage and have done so much to help local people during the COVID-19 lockdown. But to survive, many need to carry out urgent repairs and install modern facilities. The cost of this work is far beyond what most congregations can pay for themselves.”
“So, I’m delighted that Selby Abbey is being helped with a £25,000 National Churches Trust Grant. The work on the repairs to rainwater goods, guttering, masonry, tower, windows and roof will help secure the future of this architectural masterpiece.”
A total of 59 grants have been awarded to benefit churches and chapels in England, Wales and Northern Ireland by the National Churches Trust, the charity that supports the UK’s church buildings.
These are the second-round of grants made by the National Churches Trust in 2020. To date this year, the Trust has distributed 145 grants totaling over £1 million to churches and chapels around the UK.
Although Selby Abbey is now a parish church, it was one of England's great monastic churches, one of the three most important Benedictine Houses in the north of England and traditionally the earliest.