PARISHIONERS of one of Monmouth’s oldest buildings are rolling up their sleeves to give their church a much-needed three coats of paint, and save some money at the same time for current restoration work.

St Peter’s Church Dixton dates back to the 11th century although it is thought that parts of the building go back to Saxon times and beyond.

Recent restoration work has revealed significant problems with the roof of the chancel at the eastern end of the church and the Parochial Church Council (PCC) are currently getting advice as to how to proceed. There is also a fear that similar problems might be manifesting themselves in the main part of the roof.

However the present task of repainting is proving to be quite a steep mountain to climb and they hope some volunteers may be persuaded to get involved so they can save money towards the repairs.

Daphne Smith, one of the Friends of Dixton Church told the Beacon that to save money on the current restoration work, they decided to ask the contractors to only repaint the tower.

“In order to save money, we decided to ask the contractors to only repaint the tower, which they did while the scaffolding was up, and a very fine job they made of it. The rest of the church we have decided to tackle ourselves. We have made a start as you can see from the photos, but we need to apply three coats of paint to all the walls and it is a big job. Many hands make light work.

"We are hoping to organise painting parties of volunteers who are willing to come and wield a paint brush for us. Could you help us?”

If you would like to express your interest in giving them a hand, email them at [email protected] and they will then get in touch with you and let you know when their next session will be.