£300,000 award answers prayers for Liverpool places of worship

Mar 6 2008 by Catherine Jones, Liverpool Echo

THREE Liverpool places of worship are celebrating more than £300,000 of grants from heritage officials.

It is a double celebration for Princes Road synagogue, which last week was granted Grade I listed status.

The Toxteth synagogue, described as one of the finest “cathedral synagogues” in Europe, wins a £112,000 share of English Heritage’s Places of Worship fund.

Rabbi Zvi Solomons, said: “It’s wonderful news.

“The money will go towards repairing the left side of the roof. The building currently leaks whenever it rains. We will still have to raise around £60,000 ourselves but this is a huge relief.”

St Francis Xavier RC church in Everton is awarded £126,000 with the money going towards rewiring the whole church, while the 194-year-old St George’s CE, also in Everton, receives £73,000.

The grants are part of £15m from English Heritage and Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to support urgent conservation work in 160 grade I and II* listed places of worship across England.

They were awarded under the organisations’ joint repair grants for places of worship scheme.

Henry Owen-John, north west director of English Heritage, said: “Places of worship areŠa hugely valuable part of our streetscapes and our communities.

“Many of these time-worn treasures are only maintained through the hard work of small and hard-pressed communities.

“Today’s grants will go some way to providing much-needed support.”

catherinejones@liverpoolecho.co.uk