Permission has been given for St Patrick’s Church to be restored.

Charity Friends of Jurby Church, which formed in 2013 to save the church, has been lobbying to make repairs to it officially since 2019.

More than 200 years old, the church has been in a state of disrepair for years, according to charity secretary and church warden Sandra Kerrison.

She says the restoration will be completed in phases with the exterior being the first.

‘You do have to start raising funds before you need them and, although we have what we think will be plenty at the moment to do the first phase, and maybe start the second phase, we’ve really got to raise a lot more money.’

She added: ‘Everybody is thrilled. There is so much goodwill around the island and we have lots of supporters.’

Having applied in June 2019 for all three phases of the work, the group was allowed to work on heritage features in the meantime, such as the stained glass windows, but not the exterior.

Mrs Kerrison said: ‘We’ve been trying to get permission to keep the building watertight and keep the wind out.

‘There have always been question marks over the tower but we’ve had three surveys over the past 10 years or so, and the tower is stable.

‘That was one thing that was holding us up and the other was money I suppose. It’s been really hard to progress for such a long time and it’s amazing how much work and how many hours go into it.

‘It’s difficult to get the funds so it’s taken us a while and we’ve been raising money every year, but of course we’ve been spending it too.’

She continued: ‘Luckily, we’ve had people who have helped us and gone the extra mile in helping us raise the money.

‘There are lots of people who want this to happen, so we’re just hoping things will run more smoothly from now on.’

The charity saved the church from closure back in 2014.

She said: ‘It was in a poor state of repair and the congregation had dwindled away. Also, the money just wasn’t there and I don’t think the other churches were happy to support Jurby.

‘Friends of Jurby Church formed for this as the diocese were asking if anybody like Manx National Heritage wanted it but no one did.

‘But the point is really, it’s not just the building which is significant, but it’s the heart of an important Christian Manx heritage site.

‘There’s so much history there, such as the Commonwealth War Graves.

‘It stands out so much, because it’s such a landmark, people tend to just come across it. And during the last two years, we’ve had lots of exhibitions and things like that.’