14 Jul Culture Recovery Fund

St Mary’s Church Somers Town to receive £13,700 from second round of the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund

• St Mary’s Church Somers Town is among more than 2,700 recipients to benefit from the latest round of awards from the £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund
• This award will help to open up the church after Lockdown and encourage the people of the local area to access the church and hall again.

St Mary’s Church Somers Town has received a grant of £13,700 from the Government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund to help the organisation recover and reopen.

Nearly £400 million has been awarded to thousands of cultural organisations across the country including [Organisation] in the latest round of support from the Culture Recovery Fund, the Culture Secretary announced today.

St Mary’s is a Grade 2 listed building set in the heart of Somers Town since 1835, where it continues to serve the local community through its outreach to the elderly, families and to the homeless through the winter night shelter. We strive to keep the doors open at various times during the week so that people can find a place of quiet and rest from the hustle and bustle of city life. The need for a quiet space has become all the more necessary during the difficult and trying time of the Pandemic when many people’s mental health was adversely affected.
The generous grant from the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund has helped us to repair and enhance the Magdalen Hall Centre which is used by various groups, contribute towards the running costs and update our Covid prevention equipment to ensure a safe and welcoming environment. It has also helped to fund an open afternoon on Saturday 31st July when we will welcome local residents as we celebrate the opening up of the facilities, enjoy much needed social interaction and to listen to a range of local speakers.
This project is funded by the Culture Recovery Fund for Heritage. The Culture Recovery Fund is being delivered by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Historic England, using funds provided by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Over £800 million in grants and loans has already been awarded to support almost 3,800 cinemas, performance venues, museums, heritage sites and other cultural organisations dealing with the immediate challenges of the coronavirus pandemic.

This brings the Government’s total investment across grants, capital and repayable finance from the Culture Recovery Fund so far to more than £1.2 billion across over 5,000 individual cultural and heritage organisations and sites.

The second round of awards made today will help organisations to look ahead to the spring and summer and plan for reopening and recovery. After months of closures and cancellations to contain the virus and save lives, this funding will be a much-needed helping hand for organisations transitioning back to normal in the months ahead.

Culture Secretary, Oliver Dowden, said:

“Our record breaking Culture Recovery Fund has already helped thousands of culture and heritage organisations across the country survive the biggest crisis they’ve ever faced.

Now we’re staying by their side as they prepare to welcome the public back through their doors – helping our cultural gems plan for reopening and thrive in the better times ahead.”

Fr Paschal Worton, priest of St Mary’s said: It is a great encouragement after a time of closure during Lockdown that this grant will enable many more residents from the local community to value and enjoy this historic church, which has been such a stable presence in Somers Town for nearly two hundred years.

Ros Kerslake, CEO of The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said:

“Spring is definitely here, bringing not only sunshine but that sense of optimism and hope for the future. We are all looking forward to heritage places and other visitor attractions reopening and I am very pleased that we have been able to support DCMS in delivering this vital funding to ensure the UK’s heritage sector can rebuild and thrive, boosting local economies, creating jobs and supporting personal wellbeing.”

Duncan Wilson, Chief Executive of Historic England, said:

“The value of our heritage sites and the people who run them has been amply demonstrated, as they have provided an anchor for so many of us through the dark days of the last year. Vital grants from the Culture Recovery Fund have helped them survive and will now help them recover, as the places we all cherish start to reopen in the months ahead.”

The funding awarded today is from a £400 million pot which was held back last year to ensure the Culture Recovery Fund could continue to help organisations in need as the public health picture changed. The funding has been awarded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Historic England as well as the British Film Institute and Arts Council England

Notes to Editors

At the Budget, the Chancellor announced the £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund would be boosted with a further £300 million investment. Details of this third round of funding will be announced soon.

About The National Lottery Heritage Fund

Using money raised by the National Lottery, we Inspire, lead and resource the UK’s heritage to create positive and lasting change for people and communities, now and in the future. www.heritagefund.org.uk. Follow @HeritageFundUK on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and use #NationalLotteryHeritageFund

About Historic England
We are Historic England, the public body that helps people care for, enjoy and celebrate England’s spectacular historic environment, from beaches and battlefields to parks and pie shops. We protect, champion and save the places that define who we are and where we’ve come from as a nation. We care passionately about the stories they tell, the ideas they represent and the people who live, work and play among them. Working with communities and specialists we share our passion, knowledge and skills to inspire interest, care and conservation, so everyone can keep enjoying and looking after the history that surrounds us all.