A COMMUNITY in Bolton came together at the weekend in support of an historic church in need of some revitalisation.

Deane Parish Church, in Wigan Road, was built in 1452 and has the second largest graveyard in the country.

But now with an average weekly congregation of just 150 parishioners, times have been tough recently and the upkeep of the church and its grounds has proved difficult.

To try and help with this, the weekend saw the Deane Churchyard Challenge take place, where residents from the community were invited to volunteer the services to help out in any way they could.

Warden at the church, Jane Hampson, said: “We here at the church rely solely on volunteers and pride ourselves on our work in the community so we decided to put the two together and put out a plea for support.

“The only income we have to maintain the Churchyard comes from the Deane Church congregation, plus a small amount from burial fees.

“Grave plots are not sold these days as they were in bygone time and most of the Churchyard cannot be cut by a mower because of memorial stones and the lay of the land.”

Parishioners raised £280 to go towards the clean-up, with the majority going towards buying the black paint used for the worn-out railings.

Volunteers put on their gardening gloves to take on many tasks throughout the weekend, including picking weeds, painting fences, strimming the lawns and scraping moss from some of the older gravestones.

“We have had a fantastic response from the community here. Some of our regular parishioners have helped along with some new faces and that bodes well for the future.”

The year 1452 was a momentous one for several reasons, including the year that Leonardo da Vinci was born, King Richard III was born and the Gutenburg Bible was first published.

Mark Murthen, curate at the church for the last three years, said: “There is so much history here and we need to take care of it. When people come here they love it and if you look around you can really see the history of people living in this area.

“It is wonderful to see members of the church who come from the community mixing with other people who do not normally come in to the church.

“We are really thankful for residents to come out and lend a hand in something that we can all do together. The response has been great.”

Ken Tidmarsh, aged 69, has been working at the church for the last 15 years in some capacity.

After being the warden for a short spell, he now regularly volunteers on the church grounds.

He said: “I have been helping with the Memorial Garden, tidying the hedges, getting rid of all the rubbish, weeding and the general upkeep.

“There is lots to do but the turnout has been great. It is a huge area that the church covers and numerous people have got you could easily get lost.”

Two services are currently held on a Sunday with Holy Communion at 9am and a 10.30am family service.

From beginning of October, the church will open on Wednesday mornings for a community café.

For more information about Deane Parish Church, visit https://deanechurch.org/