Church to broaden its use after rising from the ashes

St Brandon's Church, at Brancepeth, near Durham City, is being rebuilt after it was reduced to an empty shell by the blaze in September 1998.

A £400,000 Heritage Lottery Fund grant towards the £3m-plus restoration appeal total means the first phase of work has now begun.

Villagers have also raised more than £100,000 towards the repair costs of the Grade I listed building.

Adrian Rogers, director of Brancepeth Church Appeal, said the consultant would look at suitable ways of broadening the use of the church, which stands next to Brancepeth Castle.

He said: "Our aim is to ensure that once the church is restored more people can actually come and see it, enjoy its location and its history.

"We have a beautiful, historic church which will be used as a parish church for Brancepeth, and we are trying to assess what other uses might be useful in its present location. We are very open minded about it.

"We do not just have to work out what we could do with the church, we also need to know what people would actually use it for.

"We want to see what other potential it has for people to enjoy its quiet space. What we do not want to do is turn it into an entertainment venue, because it is a church."

Insurance payments contributed £2m to the restoration fund and appeal organisers are confident a further £650,000 will be raised towards the final cost of the work.

Workers are currently securing the building before renewing the supporting pillars and arches.

Phase two of the project will see repairs to stonework, glazing of the windows in the nave and aisles, reconstruction of the ground floor and installation of heating and lighting.

Phase three will include restoration of surviving monuments and wall paintings, the return of the church bells, and fitting of the organ.

The restoration work is expected to take three years to complete.

A recent Christmas lunch raised more than £2,000 towards the appeal target