Bedfordshire church vestry and chancel to reopen after £300k renovation

Part of the church was closed off in the early 1970s and was only accessible from the outside

Part of a church that was closed for 40 years due to a leaking roof is to reopen.

The chancel and vestry of St Mary's Church, Bletsoe, Bedfordshire, was left as an "empty shell" and was only used to store a lawn mower or wheelbarrow.

Mike Gibbons, church warden, said parishioners took a "blind leap of faith" to get the work done.

After raising £300,000 in five years, the building has been saved for "the next 500 years", he said.

The vestry and chancel was used as a storage space for garden equipment

Mr Gibbons said the church was in desperate need of modernisation as it had no toilets and visitors had to use the facilities in nearby homes.

"There was no toilet, no kitchen, no place to hold meetings, all we could have was a service in the main part of the church," he said.

The parish took the decision to renovate the section of the church that had been "left for the spiders".

"We took a blind leap of faith, and went for it" he said.

The money raised included a £53,400 grant from the National Lottery Heritage Lottery Fund and help from the Beds and Herts Historic Churches Trust.

The renovated medieval chancel and Victorian vestry now offer space that can be used for meetings, children's groups and the community.

The renovation work took nearly two years to be completed

The work, which includes replastered walls, restored stained glass windows, insulated roofs and new floors, took 20 months to complete.

"I'm delighted with the work as it was a once-in-a-generation chance to make a lasting contribution that will secure the building for the next 500 years," he said.

The building will be rededicated by the Bishop of Bedford on Sunday afternoon, during the village's Harvest Festival.