IT will be the final push to make sure their church is full repaired

The Rev Charlie Allen, vicar of St Mary's, Portchester, in front of the nave roof, which is due to be repaired

Worshippers at St Mary’s Church, Portchester, are launching an appeal to raise £78,000 to re-roof their nave – the main worship area of the church. It’s the final phase of a project to make sure the building is sound. The historic church, parts of which date back to the 12th century, stands inside Portchester Castle.

The appeal will be launched to the congregation at their annual parochial church meeting (APCM) on April 26, and will be launched to the wider community with a concert by Hampshire Youth Choir at 7.30pm on May 16. Tickets, priced at £8 and £5, are available on 023 9232 1380.

Future fundraising plans include concerts, open gardens and the sponsorship of roof tiles. The parish also hopes to host a wedding fair in its grounds next year. Raising the money and completing the repairs should take two years.

The vicar, the Rev Charlie Allen, said: “We had three tasks to make the building secure, which was to repair the wiring and replace the lighting, to repair the drains, and to tackle the roofing.

“We’ve already done the first two of those, and we’ve also done part of the re-roofing. We spent £60,000 on the roof of the chancel, vestry and the tower. So this is the final stage. Most of the money for the other things came from donations and fundraising by the congregation, so now we want to open this to the wider community.”

A joint church and community fundraising team, including councillors, community groups and church members, have already started work. They hope to organise a non-uniform day at local schools, collection boxes in local shops and offices, and re-cycling boxes so people can donate old ink cartridges and mobile phones. Drinkers at the Cormorant pub on Castle Street are raising money through regular pub quizzes, and individual roof tiles can be ‘bought’ for £5 each.

Once the nave roof has been repaired, worshippers will look at how to use their building to serve the local community, visitors and tourists more effectively. Among the ideas being considered are a permanent coffee shop, a chapel area for time in quiet and a labyrinth-style garden of remembrance outside.

Anyone who would like to make a donation, or who has an idea to help the fundraising efforts, can contact the parish office on 023-9232 1380 or office@stmary.info