REMOVAL of 21st century graffiti carved into ancient stonework is among repair work needed to be carried out on an historic north Cotswolds church.

The graffiti was gouged into the Cotswold stone surrounding and inside the porch of St Edward's Church, Stow during the horse fair in the town last May.

It is among a schedule of repair work identified by architects who carried out a five-yearly inspection of the grade I-listed building, parts of which date back to Norman times.

Parochial Church Council treasurer and Stow town councillor Keith Cox told Stow Town Council last week (feb 21) that the work, which includes other repairs to the church masonry, will cost between £50,000 and £60,000.

"We might be running an appeal in the not-too-distant future," said Cllr Cox.

"If someone carves their name in the stonework of the church it costs hundreds of pounds to have that stone replaced," he added.

Cllr Cox admitted that the church was financially "quite well-endowed" but said that most of the money in its coffers was bequeathed for specific purposes and could not be used for anything else.

He said that running costs for the church last year were £66,000 and if it had not been for a bequest of £11,000 from one parishioner, there would have been a £11,000 shortfall.

"That saved our bacon," he said.

It was vital the repair works were carried out to the church, said Cllr Cox.

"Without it Stow would be a lesser place. We really have got to look after it. It does cost a lot of money," he added.

Stow vicar Rev David Francis said the graffiti can be seen on either side of the church porch.

"Suddenly there was a lot of it that all came at once, which is quite irritating," he said.

Rev Francis said his "more serious problem" was at the 12th Century grade I-listed St Mary's in Upper Swell, which needs to be re-roofed at an estimated cost of between £150,000 to £190,000.

English Heritage has given the church £25,000 for the first phase of the work and around £80,000 for the second phase.

"We will have to seek funds from both within the parish and other grant-making bodies," said Rev Francis. He said he hoped the work would be completed within the next three years. The work on St Edward's is likely to take 18 months