A UNIQUE church which features an underground railway track is holding an open day following the completion of a decade-long restoration project.

Conservationists said work to conserve the Church of St John the Baptist, in Pockley, near Helmsley, has seen key Victorian features, designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott, reinstated and preserved, enabling it to host regular events.

The celebrated architect, whose credits include Durham Cathedral, St Pancras Station and the Albert Memorial, designed a 25ft brick-lined tunnel along which a miniature railway runs to deliver coke and coal to a boiler chamber, under the centre of the church.

As the church is built above a solid rock, it relies on a hypocaust-style hot-air dispersal system, with metal vents on the building’s floor.

After the system fell into disrepair, former chairman of Ryedale Conservative Association and church warden John Ashworth led a drive to restore it.

A £3,500 grant from the North York Moors Small Scale Enhancements Scheme has seen the heating system restored and adapted for a multi-fuel stove, allowing the stonework to warm and its fabric to be aired.

The bell tower of the church, which is also the heating system’s chimney, has also been restored after becoming blocked by debris from jackdaws.

The Reverend Andrew De Smet said: “This project has injected new life into the church and enables us to hold functions in addition to our church services; thankfully these are no longer held in the cold.”

He said as the church has excellent acoustics, he intended to hold musical evenings within the comfort of warmth from the restored heating system.

The open day will take place from 2pm to 4pm on Monday, April 8.