TIME has been taking its toll on one historic Oxfordshire bell tower.

The 200-year-old cupola at St John the Baptist, Kingston Bagpuize, held up by weather-beaten oak beams and plagued by birds, was in urgent need of repairwork.

But now dedicated parishioners have managed to raise £75,000 to put right the damage of the years.

Villagers held concerts, coffee mornings and 10 open garden events over the last two years to raise half the money, and the Heritage Lottery Fund and Oxfordshire Historic Churches Trust (OHCT) gave most of the rest.

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Parishioner Chris Carpenter said: “It is quite remarkable that our small village managed to raise half the £75,000 we needed.

“A big part of that was driven by the Oxford Mail publicising our case.

“After the Mail ran its story, a trust in Denchworth got in touch and gave us £2,000.”

That trust, which wanted to remain anonymous, was one of a dozen bodies that gave grants of between £500 and £1,000.

The Heritage Lottery Fund has provided £34,000 and OHCT has given £8,000.

The fundraising campaign was officially launched when Wantage MP Ed Vaizey and the Bishop of Oxford, the Rt Rev John Pritchard, were elevated in a cherry picker to get a close-up view of the 200-year-old tower.

The tower, recognised as an outstanding example of an Italian-style cupola, needed repair after nesting birds caused significant damage to the old oak beams. The Bishop of Dorchester, the Rt Rev Colin Fletcher, officially “opened” the new cupola on Wednesday after conducting a dedication ceremony.

The Rev David Pickering, priest in charge, said: “It is wonderful that our church can now be removed from the ‘at risk’ register of Oxfordshire churches.

“This could not have been done without the support of our village and generous donations.”

As well as funding the renovation, enough funds were also raised for leaflets telling the history of the church and its tower to be delivered to every household in the village, in a collaboration with the Longworth and District History Society.

The church will also be able to fund a week-long project at John Blandy Primary School in neighbouring Southmoor producing a workbook on the church and tower for future visitors.

The church was funded by the Blandy family of Kingston Bagpuize House and built by Faringdon builder John Fidel in the late 1700s.

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