A MAJOR church restoration project costing more than £270,000 has now been completed at St Michael and All Angels, Meeth.

Meeth Parochial Church Council is delighted to announce that the project restoring the tower, the listed bells and installing new facilities in the church is now complete.

Masonry work to the church tower was urgent as water ingress was damaging the structure and the stones. The tower has now been fixed, with the 17th century tiles at the base of the tower carefully restored.

The bumpy churchyard path has also been replaced and new facilities have been installed, which will enable the church to hold more activities to engage with the local community.

In order to complete the refurbishment the church received financial support from a number of benefactors, including a £156,400 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The total cost of the project was £273,448.

When the vestry floor of the church was dug for pipework a large void was discovered underneath requiring a new limecrete floor. The National Churches Trust and Devon Historic Churches Trust gave the church extra funds for the additional work required to the floor and tower.

Rev Ruth Hansford said: ‘It is a huge achievement for a small village church to have undertaken and completed such a large project. It would not have been possible without so much help and support from grant-giving bodies and the local community. We give thanks that the church can now continue to be a place of worship and community at the heart of the village.’

Meeth Parochial Church Council hoped that the restoration of the church would benefit the whole community.

Members of the church council would like to thank all those who supported the project, including the Heritage Lottery Fund, National Churches Trust, Devon Historic Churches Trust, Allchurches Trust, Garfield Weston Foundation, The Cooper Fund, The Headley Trust, The Idlewild Trust, Viscount Amory’s Charitable Trust, Church Buildings Council, The Balsdon Trust, The Devon Church Bell Restoration Fund, The Sharpe Trust, The Archdeacons Fund.

The council also expressed thanks to the architect, Simon Cartlidge, and local residents, Richard and Judy Proctor, for their help and support throughout the project.