'Mammoth' project to restore listed medieval church

A "mammoth" project is under way to save a listed medieval church from ruin.

The Grade II listed St Mary's church in Kenderchurch near Pontrilas closed for worship nearly 20 years ago but is now looked after by the Friends of Friendless Churches charity.

Restoration work, which could cost about £500,000, has been approved and is set to be completed by the end of the year.

"If we hadn't stepped in, eventually the roof would have fallen in and no-one [could have restored] it," the charity's director Rachel Morley said.

Contractor Tom Jones, director of Jones and Fraser, said the roof had rot and woodworm and "quite a bit" of stonework would need replacing.

"You never know what's there until you start investigating and we are still at early stages here," he said.

Like many of the area's historic churches, the church "was heavily restored" by the Victorians, though medieval elements remain, project architect Andrew Faulkner said.

Ms Morley said: "Many were in poor condition even then, so without [the Victorians'] intervention we would probably have lost them."

She described the cost involved as "pretty mammoth but not surprising", considering how long the church had been shut.

She added: "When work is completed it will be open every day, and we will be looking for people locally to help look after it."

While the work will mainly be funded by the charity, business Pontrilas Sawmills has donated £50,000.

"What happens in the locality matters to us," the firm's financial director Eric Hilton said. "The church is a landmark worth preserving and we wanted to contribute to that."

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, which covers councils and other public service organisations.

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