Hamlet wins battle to save church

Parts of the church were in danger of collapse

A campaign by a tiny community in Northumberland to save their historic church has finally paid off.

The 35 residents of Holystone spent two years desperately raising funds to save the village church of St Mary's.

They raised several thousand pounds, but feared the worst for the 12th Century building when cash appeals were refused by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

But now the Historic Churches Preservation Trust has stepped in with a grant of £5,000.

The money will be used to repair exterior stonework and guttering as well as revamp the interior with replastering and redecoration.

Vicar Judy Glover said she was relived the grant had come just in time to save the church, which she said was the centre of village life.

The parish of Alwinton with Holystone covers an area of about 130 sq miles and has two churches.

Holystone church, dating back to the 12th century, was built on the site of a much earlier Augustinian priory.

A spokesman for the trust said: "Little remains of the original Norman building, which was demolished in 1848 and rebuilt in the same year by Durham architect George Pickering.

"The nave was the chancel of a much larger medieval church so the lower parts are possibly late 12th century.

"There are also two medieval gravestones with foliated crosses set into the south wall of the choir."

Restoration work is expected to begin in the New Year.