A RURAL Georgian church has been saved from closure, thanks to grants from English Heritage.

St Mary's, in Stanford-upon-Teme, is one of 29 churches to benefit from £2.5 million grants from English Heritage in the West Midlands.

St Mary's in Stanford, the the Teme Valley, faced closure in 1999 because it would cost too much to have repaired the church, which is more than 230 years old.

Brian Mills, chairman of the appeal committee, said the Archdeacon of Dudley had advised parishioners on how St Mary's would close down.

"Having heard that, we all thought: 'Let's make one more effort and save it ourselves'," said Mr Mills.

The first phase of repairs were completed before Christmas and cost £230,000, a large amount of which was provided by English Heritage. The rest was made up from other grants, with £15,000 being raised by the parish of only 130 adults.

Now the Heritage Lottery Fund has given a further £150,000 for the second phase of work. This will focus on repairs to the roof.

English Heritage's Repair Grants for Places of Worship is providing almost £2.5m for Grade I and II listed churches in the West Midlands.

St Andrew's, in Ombersley, is receiving £104,000, which will be used to repair four of its rare windows, which are bowed and in need of conservation protection.

"The church was built in 1829 and these windows have been there ever since," said Dieter Bear, appeal treasurer.

"They are a very unusual construction, with tinned iron framework and very thin glass.

"We've had a number of conservation experts here over the years who said the windows are very unusual and who were very much in favour of their conservation."

In Tenbury Wells, St Michael's will receive £130,000 to carry out repairs, including those to the south transept roof, which covers the church's famous Father Willis organ.

Repairs will also be made to the ledge work and iron supports of the Hardman stained-glass windows.

"Our grants will help congregations to safeguard the future of the region's precious architectural heritage for the benefit of everyone," said Mary King, English Heritage director for the West Midlands.