Golden angels emerge from 500-year-old Nottingham church

The angels have been coated with 23.5 carat gold leaf

A chorus of angels has emerged from the gloom of a church's roof after a project to gild them.

The ten oak sculptures were placed 10m (33ft) up in the nave of St Mary's, in Nottingham's Lace Market, 170 years ago but have become all but invisible in their lofty position.

Now however they are being carefully restored after a fundraising effort by worshippers.

The church's vicar said their transformation had been "spectacular."

The angels were dirty, dusty and needed cleaning before gilding began

The angels were designed for the 500-year-old church by renowned Victorian church architect Sir George Gilbert Scott, who was also behind the Midland Grand Hotel at St Pancras Station.

The Reverend Tom Gillum said: "Scott was a great fan of gilding, so nobody really knows why our angels didn't get that treatment.

"It's probably a sad story of incompetence or indifference.

"We've tried to research it but we haven't found the answer.

"What we do know is that they have been incredibly hard to pick out - most people would not know they are there.

"The Friends of St Mary's decided to raise money to get them gilded to celebrate their 40th anniversary.

"It's taken a while but now the work is under way."

The angels were erected in St Mary's 170 years ago

Scaffolding was erected in the church so gilder Sue Lee could access the angels.

By Friday she had restored the five on the north side of the nave.

Mr Gillum said: "They had 170 years of dust on them, so they needed quite a clean before the gilding but the change has been somewhat spectacular.

"They look amazing and Sue has done such a very good job."

Sue Lee said each carved angel had a personality of its own

Mrs Lee said: "Because they are so far up and were really hard to see, we really didn't know what condition they were in - whether they had wings hanging off or infestations.

"But they really are wonderful - each carved differently with their own hairstyles and facial expressions, giving them each a personality of their own.

"They were covered in cobwebs and such, so we vacuumed them and sealed them.

"Then we used 23.5 carat gold leaf which won't oxidise or tarnish, so they will look great for a very long time."