A CHURCH in Radcliffe is throwing open its doors this weekend as part of the national Heritage Open Days initiative.

St Mary’s Parish Church, in Churchgate, will have a host of things for visitors to see and experience from tomorrow until Sunday as part of the English Heritage scheme.

And the church is hoping that kind-hearted visitors will make a donation to the fund to repair the tower, which was built in 1665 and is currently out of use.

Irene Thirkell, a reader and church warden, said: “We have just spent £300,000 on the roof and now we need around £200,000 for the tower.

“It is such a lovely building yet many people don’t even know we are here. This weekend gives everyone the chance to see what a nice church it is and maybe help us raise some money for the building fund.”

Throughout the weekend there will be historical photographs on display depicting the church’s life and also displays from the Rainbows and Brownies.

Tomorrow, Radcliffe Hall Primary School will be displaying their artwork and the school choir will be performing at 2pm.

The Deputy Mayor of Bury, Cllr Peter Ashworth will be at the church on Saturday afternoon and there will also be entertainment from an organist and a flautist on Saturday and Sunday.

The appeal to raise the money for the tower, which is in danger of collapse due to the “perilous” condition of the masonry, comes just weeks after work was completed on the roof.

The damage was discovered by an architect, who was checking the building and found the parapets were broken.

Mrs Thirkell said: “People feel as if we are going one step forward and two steps back. We have tried so hard to improve the church, but it seems to be one problem after another.”

The church will be open from 10am until 4pm tomorrow and Saturday and from noon to 4pm on Sunday.