AFTER several winters of being left in the cold, worshippers at St Frideswide’s Church are set to finally warm up.

The Grade II listed Victorian-Gothic church has raised the £20,000 needed to replace its temperamental heating system in time for the winter chill.

The church’s aptly named All Wrapped Up for Christmas craft fair will be the first event to use the building with its newly installed heating.

Eighteen stallholders will get the chance to display their handmade crafts.

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Churchwarden Anne James said: “We wouldn’t have been able to use the church at all this winter. Local people have been very generous and we also received money from the Oxfordshire Historic Churches Trust.

“We do regular organ recitals and we’ve got a big craft festival coming up in November.

“The heating will be up and running for that and it will be very welcome.

“We want to be able to complement what the West Oxford Community Centre do in providing a range of community events.”

West Oxford resident Gwen Hobson, a project manager in local government, has taken up a stall to show off her collection of LenaLuna handmade dresses for children.

She said: “St Frideswide’s is such a good venue and really deserves to be used more. The new heating will make such a difference and encourage more people to spend time there, starting with buying their Christmas gifts.”

Rector of Osney, Rev Clare Sykes, said she hoped the new heating would attract the wider community to the historic church.

She said: “Apart from the organ recitals we haven’t been able to make full use of the building.

“It’s not been at an acceptable level to open it up to the wider community.

“The heating had to be a priority. If you can’t make people comfortable, you won’t be able to make them come back.”

She added that the 142-year-old church would undergo more projects, including a new porch and new signage, if more funds were secured.


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