HOPES are rising that a Grade I-listed Victorian church on the boundary between West Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire will be brought back to life.

St Peter’s Church in Daylesford, near Kingham, pictured, is normally closed to the public due to its poor condition, with a risk of falling masonry inside the building.

Access is only possible by appointment with the churchwarden.

The building, built at the end of the 1850s, is a familiar landmark for passengers on Cotswold Line trains between Kingham and Moreton-in-Marsh, but is hidden from the road and the rest of the village by yew trees.

Plans to restore it fell by the wayside after it was declared redundant by the Church of England in 2001 and potential sources of funding for repairs dried up due to the credit crunch.

Now it is once more in the care of the Oxford Anglican diocese.

Victorian Society spokesman Tom Ashley, said: “We understand that the issues that have prevented the building’s renovation and re-use have now been resolved, and that there is a strong prospect that the building will soon be open again to the public and returned to its former glory.

“The Victorian Society is very heartened to hear this and we wish the local community every success in their endeavours.”

It is understood that if all goes to plan, the church will reopen for both Anglican and Catholic services.

Oxford Diocese spokesman Sarah Meyrick declined to comment.