The funding from the grants administered by Historic England is intended for capital projects and range between £5,000 and £640,000.
The £13 million of capital investment for both Anglican and Roman Catholic buildings, funded by the Heritage Stimulus Fund, is part of the Government’s £1.57bn Culture Recovery Fund (CRF).
The Heritage Stimulus Fund is a £50m grant scheme designed to support organisations in England from across the heritage ecosystem that have suffered severe loss of income as a result of Covid-19. It was awarded to organisations with a responsibility for important collections of historic buildings.
Nearly half of all England’s Grade I and Grade II* listed buildings are Anglican or Catholic churches, and both the Church of England and the Catholic Church in England and Wales made central applications to Historic England for funding.
An expert panel has allocated the funding to 68 Church of England churches and cathedrals and 29 Catholic churches and cathedrals, a total of 96 projects nationwide.
Among the Church of England’s allocation, over £2 million, or 21 per cent of the total, will go to churches in the 10 per cent most deprived parishes nationally.
The cash injection differs from previously announced funding from the CRF which benefited 70 Anglican churches and cathedrals to support organisational resilience and recovery.
Becky Clark, the Church of England's Director of Cathedrals and Church buildings said: “We are delighted to confirm the beneficiaries of this investment.
“This money goes into the very heart of local communities, preserving architectural and cultural heritage for a new generation while safeguarding highly-skilled jobs in a volatile economy.
“Investing in these projects is an investment in people’s lives. Whether that’s those who rely on tourism, heritage-specific employment, or people who enjoy the peace and serenity offered by these buildings.
“This money is a welcome move from the Government and Historic England which will allow the buildings to continue to be centres of their communities.”