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The Duchy Palace, Truro Cathedral and 13 other historic sites are set to benefit after three organisations successfully bid for support from the Shared Prosperity Fund to ensure these cultural assets can be enjoyed by residents for years to come.

View of Duchy Palace prior to renovation in 2012-13

Image Credit: Bob Shand  (CC BY-NC 2.0) 

Cornwall Buildings Preservation Trust will use £188,453 to carry out a programme of works to future-proof Old Duchy Palace, in the heart of Lostwithiel. It will also grow the capacity of the Trust to take on further projects to rescue Heritage at Risk.

Truro Cathedral will see £112,410 of investment towards restoring St Mary’s Aisle, the oldest part of the cathedral which dates to the 16th century. Cornwall Heritage Trust has been awarded £260,634 to grow the charity, expand their outreach programme to schools, youth groups and local communities, and increase volunteer and training opportunities.

Kirsty Worden, Chair of Cornwall Buildings Preservation Trust, said:

"We are excited to be working with the Shared Prosperity Fund to make these fundamental improvements to the Old Duchy Palace, which will see it open more extensively at the heart of the bustling town of Lostwithiel. The environmental resilience works and energy efficiency improvements will keep the Palace viable for future use and enjoyment. The proposed virtual tour will allow many more people to experience the Palace and its colourful history. We look forward to working with local contractors, consultants and craftspeople to see this project come to life."

This latest funding follows previous Shared Prosperity Fund investment in Cornish heritage projects with IntoBodmin (£180,000) and Real Ideas Organisation (£855,451) in Liskeard, both securing funding to transform old Passmore Edwards library buildings into multi-use community spaces.

Find out more about latest plans for Duchy Palace from Cornwall Buildings Preservation Trust website.