Restoration plans for old church

A £10m restoration plan is being launched for the Norman church

A church, built on one of the oldest Christian sites in western Europe, is to undergo a £10m revamp over 10 years.

St John's Church, in Chester, which was founded in 689, has been described as one of the best examples of Norman architecture in Britain.

The improvements will make the building available for secular activity as well as the sacred, The Rector of Chester David Chesters said.

The Duke of Westminster is to launch an appeal to pay for major building work.

There are a number of legends associated with St John's, one being that it was the place where King Arthur was crowned.

Historians have also said that King Harold escaped the Battle of Hastings in 1066 and came to live in the Anchorite Cell attached to the building.

The cathedral's organ was used in Westminster Abbey for the Coronation of Queen Victoria in June 1838 and later transported by barge to Chester. During that process some of the lead pipes were stolen.