A MUCH-LOVED Herefordshire church has been saved from disrepair thanks to generous donations.

St Deinst's Church in Llangarron, near to the Welsh border between Ross-on-Wye and Monmouth, has been awarded a grant of £37,440 from the National Churches Trust so it can start urgent repairs.

This joins generous donations to the church made by Hereford Historic Churches Trust, the Wolfson Foundation and Laslett’s Charities, which, together with support from local people, have helped secure the future of the church.

OTHER NEWS:

Work has now begun on the first part of the project to repair masonry work, including on the tower and spire.

This will prevent any further falling masonry and make the church watertight once again, so it can remain at the heart of the local community as it has been for a thousand years.

Once the work is complete the safety barriers that have been in place to protect visitors from falling stones will be removed and full access to the church will be restored.

Records of a church in Llangarron go back to Edward the Confessor, when a wooden church was built and consecrated; it was subsequently re-consecrated under William I by Bishop Herwald as "Lan garan" church.

The church was rebuilt of local sandstone with slate roofs in the second quarter of the 14th century, the tower being later than the rest.

Lisa Hill, treasurer of the parochial church council said: "We are so grateful for the generous support that means this urgent repair work is able to get underway.

"With the help of these grants, St Deinst’s will soon be protected from the wind and rain again, and we’ll be ready to welcome visitors back to our beautiful historic church."