THE ongoing restoration and improvement of St Faith’s Church in Dorstone has been boosted with A £10,000 grant from the Herefordshire Historic Churches Trust.

As part of the Dorstone Settlement Timeline project, the grant forms part of a wider programme of investment in St Faith’s, which is undergoing building works to improve visitor facilities and create a permanent home for a new heritage exhibit exploring 6,000 years of settlement in Herefordshire’s Golden Valley.

The funds will go towards the ongoing project to reorder the nave of the church and provide new accessible toilet and kitchen facilities within the base of the tower.

“We are delighted that Herefordshire Historic Churches Trust is supporting this transformative project, which is helping us to equip St Faith’s for a dynamic and exciting future,” said Dominic Harbour, project co-ordinator of the Dorstone Settlement Timeline.

“Not only will the new facilities directly benefit our community and pilgrims, but they will support the sustainable growth of visitors as we share our unique 6,000-year-old history through the development of new exhibitions, displays and digital guides.”

St Faith’s is a historically significant, Grade II* listed building and the project brings together archaeology, natural history, architecture and living memory to tell the story of Dorstone’s remarkable past, from Neolithic monuments, such as the nearby Arthur’s Stone, to the mediaeval origins of the village.

The church is currently closed so that vital building works can take place and is due to reopen later this summer with a reordered and improved space, including new lighting, toilets and kitchen.

The Dorstone Settlement Timeline exhibition will follow later, along with a host of heritage activities for all ages which is already underway, including creative wildlife activities in the churchyard on July 11 and October 3, and a community archaeology dig in locations across the village during the first week of August.