Lincoln Cathedral has received a £250,000 grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund which will help the Cathedral to take immediate emergency actions and enable recovery planning.
The funding, made possible by National Lottery players, was awarded through The National Lottery Heritage Fund’s Heritage Emergency Fund. A total of £50million was made available to provide emergency funding for those organisations most in need across the heritage sector.
The Very Revd Christine Wilson, Dean of Lincoln said she was delighted by the award, “Lincoln Cathedral has weathered many storms in the past from fires and earthquakes to civil unrest. Now as a result of the pandemic, we, along with our city, our county and the whole country are once again navigating through challenging times.
“We are working exceptionally hard as an organisation to ensure that the Cathedral is financially viable so that we can continue to be a beacon to the community and that the doors can be kept open to continue to joyfully proclaim the love of God. Over the past weeks there has been joy at once again opening our doors both for worship and to the many visitors who we welcome each year, but also pain at the difficult decisions that we have had to make in order to create a sustainable future for the Cathedral and the communities it supports.
“The generous support of both individuals and organisations like the National Lottery Heritage Fund, will ensure that we can provide a sacred space for worship, welcome, hospitality and spiritual nurture, that meets the needs of the community as we all continue to live with the reality of COVID-19”
Ros Kerslake, Chief Executive of The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said, “Heritage has an essential role to play in making communities better places to live, supporting economic regeneration and benefiting our personal wellbeing. All of these things are going to be even more important as we emerge from this current crisis.
“Thanks to money raised by National Lottery players we are pleased to be able to lend our support to organisations such as Lincoln Cathedral during this uncertain time.”
Thanks to National Lottery players, £30 million is raised every week for good causes, including heritage of local and national importance. By playing The National Lottery, people up and down the country are making an amazing contribution to the nationwide-response to combatting the impact of COVID-19 on local communities across the UK.
The grant comes at the same time as the launch of Lincoln Cathedral’s recovery appeal. It is hoped that ‘Provide, Protect, Preserve’ will raise £1.5million to stabilise the Cathedral’s finances in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Every pound donated in support of Lincoln Cathedral’s recovery appeal gives greater hope that Lincoln Cathedral will be able to deliver the aims of ‘Provide, Protect, Preserve’ which are integral to the history and story and purpose of the building. Full details of the appeal, and how to donate can be found at https://lincolncathedral.com/recovery-appeal/
