St Mary’s Church in Lower Dunsforth, near Boroughbridge, has placed itself at the heart of the village community after a £180,000 refurbishment programme.

The church has had a new kitchen and accessible toilet fitted, as well as a new electric heating system and some other repair works done, as part of its Welcome Project making the building fit for the future.

To celebrate, the Rt Revd Anna Eltringham, Bishop of Ripon, came to St Mary’s and blessed the new facilities, marking an important moment on the church’s four-year journey.

Michael Wildblood, church Treasurer, said: “All is now done and a new chapter in the life of St Mary's has begun. The benefits that are now beginning to be felt include the flexibility of the new facilities, which are suitable for 'cafe church', a new more informal form of worship.

“They have also allowed the start in the planning of a monthly Saturday coffee morning to help compensate for the loss of the village pub. We hope these new facilities help foster a general feeling of belonging to an active community, one that has no barriers.

Mr Wildblood explained that the church’s journey started in 2022, following the closure of the local pub, with the people of the church deciding that the villages of Upper and Lower Dunsforth needed a community building suitable for wider use.

The church then undertook fundraising efforts, with contributions from local residents through contacts and events as well as awards from grant-giving charities.

The refurbished church

The refurbished church

He continued: “It is fair to say that Fund raising was a daunting task. Not having tackled this kind of project before, we had no idea how much we could expect from individuals, nor could we anticipate the extent of support we would get from grant-giving trusts. Fortunately we were not to be disappointed.

Local residents, contacts and events raised £39,840, church reserves £3000, the return of VAT £23,380 and awards from 12 grant-giving charities £118,900, providing a total of £185,120.

“We were particularly grateful for the local support in the last of these categories, namely The North Yorkshire Council through Councillor Warneken, the Anglican Diocese of Leeds, the Bramall Foundation of Harrogate (for the internal alterations) and the Yorkshire Historic Churches Trust (for the repairs).”

He added: We were delighted that Anna, Bishop of Ripon, agreed to come to St. Mary’s to witness what we have done over the past four years and what we are doing now. We were absolutely thrilled that she gave our work and our church her blessing.”