Truro Cathedral’s bid to repair and refurbish St Mary’s Aisle has received a major boost following a donation of £50,000 from the Garfield Weston Foundation.

The Garfield Weston Foundation is a family-founded grant-maker that gives money to support a wide variety of charities across the UK.

Each year the foundation gives away its income and since it was established in 1958 it has donated more than £1.4 billion, of which over half has been given away in the past ten years.

The Very Reverend Simon Robinson, the cathedral’s interim dean, said: “We are thrilled to be awarded this grant, which is a very significant contribution towards our target of £500,000 to repair and refurbish St Mary’s Aisle.  

“It has been very sad to see the worsening damage to the walls and ceiling caused by the failing roof structure, and with the aid of the Garfield Weston Foundation and other generous supporters, we very much look forward to making the Aisle watertight once more.  

“St Mary’s Aisle is a church within itself and both a much-loved reminder of pre-Victorian Truro and a very important part of our life here. This repair and refurbishment project will preserve its unique character and history, and provide a safe space for worship and a welcoming and comfortable space for an exciting programme of events and activities for all ages.”

St Mary’s Aisle is the oldest part of Truro Cathedral, but it, and the historic Byfield Organ, is under threat due to a seriously leaking roof where the aisle joins the cathedral extension.

Meanwhile, the cathedral held a Holocaust Memorial Day Exhibition on January 26.

This exhibition was provided by the Devon and Cornwall Police diversity team and it outlined how hate speech and hate crime fed into the genocide of the Jews, and others, in World War II.

It further reflects on how prejudices in other countries, and between peoples, have fed genocides that have followed in Bosnia and Rwanda and elsewhere since that time. The exhibition aims to break the link between the demonising of difference and the conflict and atrocities that can follow.