BUILT as a memorial for her son by a grieving mother, the Church of Christ the Consoler has long been marked out as something special.

Designed by eminent Victorian architect William Burgess, the interior features rich architecture and fittings and every window is filled with brightly-coloured stained glass.

Now the church, in the park of Newby Hall near Ripon, North Yorkshire, is at the forefront of a campaign to encourage the public to visit churches which are no longer in regular use.

The Churches Conservation Trust has drawn up a list of 50 of the 320 churches in its care to be opened up over the summer.

And the Church of Christ the Consoler has been singled out as one of the highlights, "one of the most brilliant and exhilarating" in the trust's care.

The church was built in 1871-7 by Lady Mary Vyner as a tribute to her son, Frederick Grantham Vyner, who was captured and killed by brigands in Greece in 1870.

Churches in the trust's care are looked after by volunteers, and some host occasional services, although none of them now holds regular worship.

Also among the 50 being opened up this summer is Holy Trinity Church, off Goodramgate in York, in the shadow of the minster.

A trust spokeswoman said: "We rely on an army of volunteers to open the churches so people can look at them.

"And we have made a special effort to make sure these churches are open as much as possible so people can come and enjoy them and have a look around."