Cornwall historic monuments protection gets £500k grant

One of Cornwall's scheduled monuments is the St Piran's Oratory in Perranporth

The Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) has received a grant of £489,700 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

The money will go towards the work of its Monumental Improvement project, launched in May 2020 to maintain historical assets.

There are 40 scheduled monuments which are protected by the AONB.

Alongside Cornwall AONB, other project funders include Cornwall Council, National Trust and Historic England.

Rebecca Barrett, regional director at Historic England, said: "This award is fantastic news for the people and places of the Cornwall AONB, and will bring cherished historic sites into good order.

"It will also give hundreds of people the chance to celebrate Cornwall's heritage in really creative ways."

Stuart McLeod, from the Heritage Fund, said: "These monuments offer a unique narrative into Cornwall's heritage and therefore it's vital that these are preserved, and their stories discovered."

Bosses said they hoped the grant would empower communities to take a more active role in caring for monuments in the future.