MEMBERS of a church once given the seal of approval by King Richard III are inviting the public to share in its history as part of a new project.

That's as those at St Mary's Parish Church, in Barnard Castle, have teamed up with the social business DigVentures, to bring a series of community events to the building in the hope of being granted Heritage Lottery Funding (HLF) needed for urgent repairs.

Reverend Alec Harding said the church was applying for a £400,000 grant as repairs were needed to the Grade I listed building as changes to the church tower by the Victorians had disturbed the structure and now a crack has appeared at the west end. The stained glass windows will also need work.

Rev Harding said a change in the way funds are granted means churches no longer have their own category with HLF, making grant application is more complex.

To fulfill the criteria of the grant, the congregation also has to show it has done work to engage with the community.

That's where DigVentures got involved. The Barnard Castle-based company uses crowdfunding to make archaeology more accessible to the general public and this is their first church project.

Community archaeologist, Johanna Ungemach, said: "There's a very rich heritage in the church but not many people know about the specifics of the history and are unaware that they can come here and look at actual artefacts from the time so we want to get that information out there."

A series of special events will be held next month to encourage visitors to learn more about the building which is home to battle flags used by the Duke of Wellington in the 18th Century.

Events include, photogrammetry - making 3D models of parts of the church; talks about the stained glass windows; sessions with local schoolchildren and doing some finds washing from other excavations.

Ms Ungemach said: "We want people to come here and get hands on whilst learning a little bit about the church."

Rev Harding said the church council hoped to proceed to the second stage of the HLF application in March and if it was successful, work could begin by Autumn next year.

"I'm really excited about it," he said.

  • All events are free but should be booked. For more information email johanna@digventures.com