THERE is good news for Newport Minster, as it has been given a lottery grant towards its restoration.

Newport Minster has received a confirmed award of £116,400.00 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) ‘Grants for Places of Worship’ scheme for Phase 5 of the restoration and initial work on re-ordering the interior. The project aims to restore the east end of the church and create a welcome area inside the main west door.

The project aims to carry out essential conservation work on the stonework, roofs and windows of the east end of the church and south east corner. This includes the large east window, which will be removed to be repaired, and the windows in the Horsey Chapel. Inside the main west door the pews beneath the organ loft will be removed to create a welcome area, allowing better access to the church for services and events. A new guide leaflet and information boards will be produced as well.

Commenting on the award, the vicar, the Rev Kevin Arkell said: “We’re delighted that the Heritage Lottery Fund has given us this support. Newport Minster is providing a daily space for the community and for worship, hosting displays, events and major Island services. This next step of our development brings us closer to fulfilling our dreams of serving the Island community.”

The Minster has been a focal point for the community for over 800 years and is increasingly used by organisations outside the church. This project will help to restore it to good condition externally and start the work of creating a more flexible space inside to enable it to be used by the community.

This grant is nearly half the money needed for Phase 5, the rest coming from other trusts and individual donors raised with the support of the Friends of Newport Minster. The previous four phases have focused on restoring the outside of the north side of the church, including the roofs, and the top of the tower. This phase is the first to begin the work of reordering the inside of the church.