TIMBERSCOMBE church is now half way towards its £42,000 fundraising target to install facilities, thanks to a £500 donation from Magna Housing.

St Petrock’s Church is right in the heart of the village and is open every day, from dawn to dusk, which is rare for many village churches these days.

Pippa Prideaux, one of the volunteers at the church, said: “We are in a remote, rural community and it can be difficult to reach each other. When the community has an opportunity to get together, it really helps socially.”

So the church offers a place for groups to get together, including the gardening club, history group, bell ringers, and hosts many events including coffee mornings, concerts and school plays.

Deputy church warden Marion Jeffrey said: “Our prime aim is to support the local community. We hope that making the building more accessible and providing facilities will encourage more people to use the church.”

A huge amount of work has already taken place to get the relevant permissions to adapt the grade one listed building. Once the fundraising target is met, the existing vestry will be reconfigured to include a disabled toilet, baby changing facilities and create a smaller vestry in the remaining space.

Installing running water within the church also means they can put in a small servery with a sink and provide tea and coffee making facilities available to all visitors.

Neil Bliss, resident and community engagement officer at Magna, said: “We have many residents in Timberscombe and the village has seen a decline in community facilities in recent years.

“We want to support the communities we are based in and are pleased to be able to contribute £500 towards the project.”