A COVID recovery grant worth over £80,000 has been awarded to Hartlebury Castle from the government to help it bounce back from months of closure during the pandemic.

Hartlebury Castle is set to receive £82,500 from the second round of the government’s Culture Recovery Fund, designed to support cinemas, performance venues, museums, heritage sites and other cultural organisations dealing with the immediate challenges of the coronavirus pandemic.

The money will help the trust which runs Hartlebury Castle to recover from months of lost income while the site was closed, support its reopening, and fund improvements to level access to areas of the grounds and complete vital maintenance works to preserve the future of the castle.

Paul West, chair of Hartlebury Castle Preservation Trust said: "We’re delighted and very grateful to receive this DCMS Culture Recovery Fund grant.

"Like many other heritage and tourist venues, being closed during the peak seasons in 2020 had a major impact on the trust.

"With this funding, we’ll be able to recover and thrive as we re-engage our visitors through the development of new features, exciting events and improved accessibility to our historic grounds.”

Hartlebury Castle was home to the bishops of Worcester for over 1,000 years and is now a heritage attraction, sharing the stories of those who lived and worked in the historic house and grounds.

Duncan Wilson, chief executive of Historic England, said: “The value of our heritage sites and the people who run them has been amply demonstrated, as they have provided an anchor for so many of us through the dark days of the last year.

"Vital grants from the Culture Recovery Fund have helped them survive and will now help them recover, as the places we all cherish start to reopen in the months ahead.”