AN historic church is celebrating a new lease of life after undergoing a £250,000 refurbishment.

The Church of St Mary-the-Less, South Bailey, Durham, is the chapel of St John's College and is used for the training of Church of England ordinands and Methodist ministers.

Yesterday it was rededicated by the Bishop of Durham, the Right Reverend Michael Turnbull, at a service to mark the completion of the refurbishment.

The chapel has been refurbished and will be used daily by university students and ordinands.

St Mary-the-Less is well-known locally because it contains the family vault of the Bowes Lyons family, ancestors of the Queen Mother.

The building dates from the 16th Century but was largely rebuilt after a fire in 1860.

The work was mainly internal, with alterations, such as removing collegiate seating and the chancel and having a single floor level.

Bishop Turnbull dedicated the building and the new altar, lectern and font.

The lectern had been donated in memory of Cranmer Hall student Clare Burton Page, who died last year.

Cranmer Hall warden Dr Steve Croft said: "It has been a long and involved process, but the refurbishment is to the glory of God and I am delighted with the way it is looking.

"We hope that many people in Durham and the North-East will come and see this lovely church which is our spiritual home as a college.''