SALISBURY Cathedral is to receive a £150,000 government grant to help repair and replace medieval stonework.

The money which comes from the First World War Centenary Cathedral Repairs Fund is part of a wider funding package of £30million for 502 historic places of worship across the UK.

Other churches in south Wiltshire to benefit are St Thomas' Church in Salisbury and St James' Church in Berwick St James which are to receive a total of £100,000 to address urgent roof repairs.

The two churches are among 85 in the south west to be given £4.5 million through the Listed Places of Worship: Roof Repair Fund. St Thomas' Church will be given £81,900 and St James' Church, £18,900.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced the funding yesterday.

Welcoming the news at the cathedral, the Very Revd June Osborne, Dean of Salisbury, said: “The news was received with great joy in Salisbury. We are the custodians of this remarkable building and it is our job to ensure that the cathedral is preserved for the benefit of future generations wishing to worship here and visit in order to share its long and venerable history.

“The cathedral is a testament to the faith and practical skills of those who built it and those who work on the fabric today. Salisbury is one of only eight cathedrals to have its own works department and a dedicated team of glaziers, sawyers, stonemasons and conservators. It was the largest building project of its time in England and the on-going Major Repair Programme that was begun nearly thirty years ago, is one of the most extensive, continuous Cathedral Repair Programmes to date.”

Salisbury’s Major Repair Programme is entering its final stages, with a target completion date of 2017-18.

In January the public facing sides of the building were finally rendered scaffolding free, revealing the Cathedral in all its glory for the first time since 1986 and allowing the public and congregation to see the building as it would have been seen in the 13th century.

The grant will be put towards the conservation and repair of the fabric on the South Presbytery Aisle in order to ensure the vulnerable masonry is safe from the wind and the rain.

The largely medieval stonework needs urgent attention if further deterioration is to be stalled. There are places where the damage is so severe that some stones are beyond repair and need replacing.