A NUMBER of churches across the Bradford district have received a funding boost to help pay for essential repair work.

Five churches in and around the Skipton area will share just under £275,000 from the Listed Places of Worship Roof Repair Fund, with two churches in Bradford and Keighley sharing a grant of £5,000 from the Yorkshire Historic Churches Trust (YCHT).

St Peter's Anglican Church, in Rylstone, is the biggest recipient with a grant of £79,700, followed by Holy Trinity Parish Church in Cowling, near Keighley, with £77,700.

St Michael the Archangel in Kirkby-in-Malhamdale is set to receive £58,500, Holy Trinity Parish Church in Skipton £41,900, with £16,900 set for St Peter's Church in Hebden.

All the grants are set aside for urgent roof repairs, part of a £30 million funding package announced yesterday by the Government to help preserve 502 historic places of worship across the UK.

St Chad's in Toller Lane, Bradford, will receive £2,000 from the YCHT, with £3,000 earmarked for All Saints Church in Keighley, both to help fund urgent repointing and repair work.

The YCHT, which provides funds for the repair, maintenance and restoration of Yorkshire's churches, chapels and meeting houses, made the awards at its recent grants committee, held at the end of last month.

The Reverend Canon Ralph Crowe, vicar at St Chad’s, a Grade II-listed building, said: “St Chad’s remains a hub of community life and we are delighted to have received this funding.

"It will help ensure we are able to carry out the essential repairs, continue to offer a range of activities, and be a welcoming place for whole community in this area of Bradford.”

The Reverend Dr Jonathan Pritchard, Priest-in-Charge at All Saints, said: "Thanks to the fundraising efforts of the local congregation, the majority of the money needed for the repair works had been raised, and this grant from the YHCT means the work can now be undertaken."

David Quick, chairman of the Yorkshire Historic Churches Trust, 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, important places of worship are preserved so they remain standing for centuries to come."