Church needs more than £700,000 for roof repairs

The Reverend Shellie Ward said it's a lovely little church for a brilliant village

A Grade-I listed church is facing a repair bill of more than £700,000, with its roof, tower drainage and balcony stairs all in urgent need of work.

The Diocese of Worcester is hoping people will rally behind a campaign to save St John the Baptist Church in Wickhamford, between Broadway and Evesham.

The Reverend Shellie Ward, vicar of Broadway, said: "It's a really old 13th Century church. It's been here for years. It's got a lot of heritage – the pews date back from the 17th Century, the murals since the 13th Century."

A public meeting will be held at Wickhamford Memorial Hall at 19:00 BST on Wednesday. The community has raised £10,000, and a lottery bid for £700,000 is planned.

Kenneth Maiden said the church building was significant to local people's lives

Further grant funding is being sought.

Church leaders will give an update on the condition of the building, a planned lottery funding bid, and the formation of a friends' group to drive the campaign.

Cracks could be seen on the chancel ceiling, Ms Ward said, and whole roof needed replacing, which alone would cost £500,000.

Netting has been placed near the ceiling in case mortar plaster falls, she said.

The whole roof of the church needs to be replaced

Kenneth Maiden, church warden, said the building was significant for residents, for their baptisms, marriages and funerals.

"People have always used this church," he said.

"It's all the history as well, all the local people who, along the years, have served in wars and what not. The remembrance plaque is there."

The earliest part of the church, the chancel, was built in the 13th Century by Evesham Abbey.

A fresco, which is a painting created on wet plaster, also dates back to the 13th Century, and shows the Madonna and Child on the east wall.

The nave was built by the community in the early 17th Century and the tower was completed in 1686 with a single bell.