English Heritage and the Wolfson Foundation have announced funding for the repair of 24 cathedrals across England as part of a new joint scheme worth up to £6 million.

This year's grants total £1.6 million, of which in the South West, Truro and Exeter cathedrals have received £52,000 and £24,000 respectively.

Truro Cathedral is to receive £52,000 towards repairs to the north transept roof and gutter, along with associated masonry work. The slated roof is leaking and has caused damage to the boarding, and to the stonework of the window below. The grant represents 40 per cent of the total £86,250 needed to carry out this phase of repairs.

Colin Reed, at Truro Cathedral, said: "We are obviously delighted to receive this grant as it will enable us to carry out urgent work as any kind of ingress of water can cause major problems. "Grants do not always cover the whole cost and certainly the cathedral will have to cover some of the expense but it all helps and we feel particularly privileged because the English Heritage has been cutting back considerably on grants. Mr Reed added that over the last five years they had carried out extensive work on both the east and west ends of the cathedral and the next big project would be to restore the central Victoria Tower.

Work began on Truro Cathedral in 1880, after the Cornish Diocese was re-established in the city in 1877. A church, the Parish Church of St Mary, already stood on the site, but instead of knocking it down to make way for the cathedral the church's south aisle was incorporated into the new structure. The quire and transepts were consecrated in 1887.

Cuts in Government funding meant English Heritage was forced to reduce the scheme to just £1 million in 2004. This new partnership reinstates pre-2004 levels of funding and doubles individual grant thresholds so helping cathedrals to undertake larger repair projects.

Dr Robert Bewley, Regional Director of English Heritage in the South West, said: "Even in this uncertain and often cynical age, cathedrals still have the ability to bring us to our knees with awe, just as the masons and craftspeople who created them centuries ago intended.

"They, more than any other type of building, demonstrate the power of architecture to affect us at the most profound level and to remind us of our place in history. I am delighted we have been able to double the amount available for the repair of these remarkable and hugely important buildings by pooling our resources with the Wolfson Foundation - a major grant-making charity with which we have worked closely and productively in the past on other areas of the heritage."

Paul Ramsbottom, Executive Secretary of the Wolfson Foundation, said: "We are delighted to be funding cathedrals in partnership with English Heritage. These are buildings that lift the spirits: monuments that speak to each succeeding generation. They remain central to our country's history. It has been a particular pleasure again to work with English Heritage, and we have benefited greatly from their expertise. The impact of the two organisations working together is greater than the individual parts."

Like all large historic buildings, cathedrals need constant, careful repair and maintenance and collectively they spend £11 million on carrying out this work each year. The English Heritage Cathedral Grants scheme has been running since 1991 when a survey showed that the country's 61 cathedrals were facing a huge backlog of major repairs that they could not fund alone. Since then the scheme has contributed a grand total of £43.4 million towards works to overcome that backlog. The focus of the new joint scheme remains on necessary major structural repairs to maintain that good condition, although other work such as archaeological and metric surveys, access audits, conservation plans and the installation of fire detection systems is also eligible.

A sum of £24,000 has been earmarked for repair work to the steel frame supporting the bells in the south tower of Exeter Cathedral the bells being the second heaviest set in the world, hung for full-circle ringing. This grant will go towards the overall cost of the work, valued at £61,165. The frame has begun to rust, causing the metal to expand and force the stonework around it to crack under the pressure. The damaged part of the frame will be replaced with stainless steel and the stonework will be repaired, to prevent major structural problems in the future.

Exeter Cathedral dates back to 1050, when Leofric, the Bishop of Crediton, moved to Exeter and was personally installed by King Edward the Confessor. The Cathedral, whose two Norman towers date back to the original early 12th century Romanesque building, has undergone various alterations and additions. It boasts the longest uninterrupted range of Gothic vaulting in the world, in addition to its early English Chapterhouse and a significant image screen adorning the profile of the West Front.