THE 400-YEAR-OLD church at Llanfihangel ar Arth is expected to be closed for around eight months while it undergoes a £200,000 restoration programme.

The site of St Michael’s Church has been a place of worship since 600 AD and the church itself dates back until at least 1600.

But current vicar Rev Bonnie Timothy said the building was in major need of a makeover.

“There’s a lot of damp in the west wall if the church and all the plaster is coming off,” she said. “It has to be re-pointed both outside and in and treated with lime wash.

“As we don’t have a church hall or toilet facilities the work will also include installing a WC for the disabled and a kitchenette by a partition on the east wall.”

The revamp is not scheduled to begin until March and work is scheduled to last until November 2017.

Three-quarters of the overall cost will be met by a Heritage Lottery grant while the remainder has still to be secured.

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