£111,000 for Wykeham church (From Gazette & Herald)

£111,000 for Wykeham church

A UNIQUE village church, which is this year celebrating its 150th anniversary, has been given a Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) grant of £111,000 to enable vital repair work to go ahead.

The church of All Saints and St Helen's at Wykeham (pictured), is believed to be one of only two in the country which has a separate steeple and church - 50 yards apart.

The main church, built by the legendary Victorian architect William Butterfield, stands on the site where a church has stood for 800 years, while the steeple belongs to an earlier building.

The Rev Peter Jaram said the money was to be used to repair the church roof. "We are very pleased to hear that the grant has been made to such a wonderful building."

The grant is part of £1.6m which has been given to the HLF to historic churches in Yorkshire.

David Fraser, regional director of English Heritage, said: "Across the region, many other churches are celebrating grants. We are committed to helping to maintain them as a focus of the community."

Updated: 09:25 Wednesday, March 19, 2003