ByRobyn Rosen, Robyn Rosen
The historic Princes Road Synagogue in Liverpool has received £71,000 from English Heritage towards the restoration of its roof and the surrounding stairwell area.
Princes Road, the only Grade I listed synagogue outside of London, received the money as part of a £15.7 million distribution to places of worship through English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Alaster Burman, project manager at the shul, was "absolutely delighted" with the award. "It's vitally important to keep this building restored," he said. "We have a vibrant and active congregation and the building needs to support that.
"The congregation and wider non-Jewish community have been very generous to our slate fund to pay for roof slates. It's not easy raising funds and it's a lot of work applying for grants. It's not just about having a decent building. We also need to raise funds for everything the building allows - the tours four days a week, exhibition, shop and events."
Carole Souter, chief executive of the Heritage Lottery Fund, said that "England's places of worship are a key part of our heritage but largely rely on the hard work and generosity of local communities and volunteers to keep them in good order.
We need to fund everything the building allows
"This money will help support the passion and commitment of those communities and safeguard these precious and important buildings."
Built in 1874, Princes Road survived both world wars and houses the Liverpool Old Hebrew Congregation, the city's oldest community, which currently has 270 members.
In 2008, a £112,000 grant also went towards the roof restoration.