WORCESTER Cathedral has received a cash boost of nearly £400,000 to restore a 19th-century stained glass window to its former glory.
The £390,000 grant from the First World War Centenary Fund will enable the Great West Window in the city’s cathedral to be repaired and restored this summer, with work set to be completed by December next year.
One of a series of windows designed and installed by John Hardman and Co. of Birmingham during the restoration between 1854 and 1875, the Great West window was a gift from the Earl of Dudley and depicts the story of the Creation.
The window is counterbalanced by the Great East Window, also by Hardman, which depicts the life, death and resurrection of Christ.
The Dean of Worcester, the Very Reverend Peter Atkinson, said: “The stained glass windows are a significant element of the Victorian restoration of the cathedral, and the Great West Window is particularly special. It is in need of serious and careful repair so we’re delighted to have been awarded this money to restore it to its former glory for many more generations to enjoy.”
This grant was one of 39 grants totalling £14.5 million given as part of the second phase of grants awarded by the First World War Centenary Cathedral Repairs Fund.
Sir Paul Ruddock, chair of the Expert Panel which assesses the grant applications, said: “In 2014 the Chancellor announced the first £20 million phase of the fund, intended to get our wonderful heritage of cathedral buildings waterproof and weathertight, safe and open and in good shape for the commemorations of the First World War Centenary in which they are playing such a key part.
“I and all those who love these great buildings were delighted when he announced a further £20 million for the fund in the March 2016 budget. It will now run until 2018 and the works it will have supported between 2014 and 2018 will stand as a very fitting memorial to the First World War a century earlier.”
Last year the Cathedral was given three grants from the First World War Fund totalling £447,000 to complete repairs to the library ceiling, the west slype roof and the restoration of the Great East Window.
