ST MARY’S Church in Lydiard Tregoze will celebrate 400 years since the installation of the jewel in its crown this weekend as a fresh bid is about to made for restoration funds.

The church has been aiming for a total of £1 million – mainly from a grant bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund – to undertake repairs to the medieval wall paintings on the walls and ceilings which have become faded over the centuries.

Additional funding has allowed more urgent work to be carried out this summer to the reredos to deal with water damage which has occurred.

Paul Gardner, appeal chairman, said: “We are pleased to announce that following continued funding raising and grants from Wiltshire Historic Churches Trust and Allchurches Trust, we are now able to undertake urgent conservation of the 18th century reredos and east chancel wall.

“We are planning for this work to start in the late summer.

“This will address long standing damage and water penetration. It will also help to inform the approach to the conservation of the historic interior and the extensive medieval wall paintings in the church – this forms part of the much larger conservation project.

“A refined and refocused bid for this larger project will be re-submitted to the Heritage Lottery Fund in August, with a decision expected in December.

“The main focus of this application will the conservation of the extensive medieval wall paintings, which have been identified by the Church of England as one of the 100 artworks currently most in need of conservation in their 100 Church Treasures Appeal.

“The appeal will secure an important part of the nation’s heritage and make it available to be enjoyed by visitors and the communities across country.

“We believe carrying out the work to the reredos in advance of the Heritage Lottery decision means that the public are able to see that their donations to our appeal fund are being used to continue to restore and conserve the beautiful interior of the church.

“As we pass the 400th anniversary of the installation of the St John Triptych on the July 20, 1615, it was open and on display on all Sunday afternoons in June.”

The triptych will be open and on display to the public between 11am and 5pm today, from 11am to 5pm on Saturday, breaking between 1pm and 3pm for a wedding, and on Sunday from 1pm to 4.45pm.

The appeal has so far raised £185,000 towards an anticipated target of £298,000, used for the forthcoming bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund of £795,000.