Years of hard work and planning have paid off as The National Lottery Heritage Fund has granted an award of nearly £1 million for the restoration and development of the facilities at St. Mary’s Church Totnes.

They celebrating news that they have been awarded £965,416 by The National Lottery Heritage Fund after two years of development work.

The total project will cost £1.6 million and will repair and reorder the nave of this much- loved building, to make it more accessible and welcoming and to promote heritage engagement and community use.

The reordering work will enhance the space and make it more flexible for the arts, community, and culture.

There will also be an activity programme to help engage diverse audiences, address local needs and improve wellbeing.

In partnership with Totnes Renewable Energy Society the church will install eco-friendly heating and power, to make the building more sustainable for the future and the whole project will help boost the local economy and skills.

The Rector and interim project manager, Fr. Jim Barlow says: “This is such fantastic news.

“A lot of people have worked very hard to make this happen. St. Mary’s is the jewel at the heart of Totnes.

“It is such a special place. “

“The planned work and activities will make it possible for more people to use the building more often and for a wider range of life-enhancing activities’

“Our community has been busy raising the rest of the funds for this project and there have been many generous donations already from local people and local trusts as well as applications to other grant making bodies.

Local fundraising activities continue and include spoken word and music events at the church and an art auction on the September 21, with Sherree Valentine Daines.”

Stuart McLeod, Director of England - London & South at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “Places of worship are some of our oldest and most cherished historic buildings.

Thanks to money raised by National Lottery players we are pleased to support this project which will secure a brighter and more sustainable future for St Mary’s Church, protecting its heritage and creating fantastic opportunities for the local community and beyond.”

The church anticipates that preliminary works will begin in November with the building closing for up to six months after Christmas, so that the floor can be taken up and re-laid.

There will be opportunities to see any interesting discoveries made as the work proceeds.

St Mary’s is a Grade I-listed building of considerable historical interest, its carved stone screen being the most imposing architectural feature.

Completed in 1450, it is at least the second church on this site, its predecessor being dedicated in 1259.

There have probably been churches on the same site for more than a thousand years.

The Priory attached to the church was dissolved in the 16th century and was a cell of a Benedictine Abbey in Angers, France.

There is sadly no longer any trace of the priory.

The current church was restored by Sir George Scott in 1867.