A CUMBRIA Friends Meeting House is to share in a £2 million funding payout from the National Churches Trust.

The charity has been supported by the Heritage Stimulus Fund with a £132,337 grant which will help fund work to Friends Meeting House and keep the building at the heart of the local community.

The Friends Meeting House was built in 1816 on the site of an earlier Quakers meeting house.

The building is Grade II listed and is adjacent is the Quaker Tapestry Museum and Exhibition housed within the original Georgian Meeting House.

Claire Walker, chief executive of the National Churches Trust said: “I’m delighted that the National Churches Trust has been able to award the Friends Meeting House, Kendal a grant of £132,337 thanks to the support of the Heritage Stimulus Fund, which is part of the government’s Cultural Recovery Fund.”

Duncan Wilson, Historic England’s chief executive, said: “Funding from the government’s Culture Recovery Fund is hugely welcome at a time when the people and organisations who look after our vast and varied array of heritage urgently need support to carry out essential repairs.

"Heritage is a fragile eco-system, with an amazing cast of characters who keep our historic places alive, with specialist skills that take time to learn and experience to perfect.

"These grants will protect their livelihoods, as they use their expertise to help our heritage survive.”