A MEDIEVAL church in County Durham is braced to open its biggest extension in more than 500 years.

St Helen’s Church, in St Helen Auckland, near Bishop Auckland, was built in about 1170 and was added to in the 13th and 16th centuries.

Now members of the present day congregation are preparing for the unveiling of its latest addition - a community hub which is “open for all”, called the Ark.

Alyson Smith is one of the fundraising team which has been driving the £350,000 project since 2014.

She said: “It is open for all, for the whole community and will be used for events that benefit the community - particularly those living in isolation.

“It’s for people of all faiths or none and you don’t have to come through the church to get into it and that’s why there’s a second door.”

The new extension provides the Parochial Church Council-run hub with a meeting room, toilet facilities and refreshment facilities.

Once fully up and running, the Ark will be used as a drop-in centre for tea and coffee, light breakfasts and light lunches.

The team has also recruited an IT specialist who will deliver support and tuition for a planned Silver Surfers session.

It is anticipated a craft and quilting group will be set up while the team hope a local history and genealogy group could be formed to provide talks of interest to the wider community.

Serving the communities of West Auckland, St Helen Auckland and Tindale Crescent, the hub will also provide a facility for small baptism and funeral teas.

The extension will be officially opened by the Lord Lieutenant of County Durham, Sue Snowdon, at a ceremony starting at midday on Saturday.

There will also be a dedication by the Bishop of Beverley, Glyn Webster.

Funds to cover the extension were raised through charitable trusts, local businesses, the local community and the congregation.

Work started in late January and was hoped to be completed in June.

However, due to bad weather in the first few months of the year the building work was delayed and the extension is due to be totally completed by the end of next month.

The project is the third of three major schemes undertaken by the church council in the past two decades.