The Friends of Jurby Church will use the proceeds from its popular temporary exhibition to maintain the church building.

The ’Saints of Mann’ exhibition, which ran from May to October in Jurby Church, was a celebration of the island’s saints who gave their names to parishes, churches, schools, wells and monuments.

Material collated from the Isle of Man’s parishes included heritage photos, sketches, maps and books.

The exhibition was extended by a month due to its popularity.

As part of the exhibition, Dr Graham Jones, author of ’Saints in the Landscape’ and the leading British authority on the subject, visited Jurby Church to give a fascinating talk on ’A Manx Saintscape’.

Manx Lottery Trust awarded a grant to The Friends of Jurby Church to help fund the displays and materials.

The remaining funding was used towards the production of a book, Jurby and the Vikings, which was based on a previous exhibition.

Sandra Kerrison, from The Friends of Jurby Church, thanked the Manx Lottery Trust for its support.

She said: ’We were delighted to have so many off-island and local visitors come and learn about our parishes and the saints of our isle.

’To have such great feedback and for the exhibition to be extended upon request is wonderful, and just shows the wide interest in our island’s heritage and history.’

Manx Lottery Trust chairman Sarah Kelly said: ’Saints of Mann was a wonderful exhibition packed full of interesting stories and we were pleased to support it.

’The Friends of Jurby Church is a devoted group of individuals and we applaud their hard work and commitment.’

The Friends have already installed central heating and a composting toilet at the church.