ST Mary’s Church in Lydiard Park will soon begin urgent work as part of a £1.2m project to revitalise one of the oldest buildings in the town.

The conservation appeal to raise vital funds for renovation works on the Grade I listed building was launched in May 2011 after medieval wall paintings and monuments fell into disrepair.

After a failed bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund for £850,000 last year, the Appeal Fund is releasing money from pledges raised so far to carry out conservation work on the reredos, which is a decoration behind the altar.

The funds will be boosted by a grant from Wiltshire Historic Churches Fund. The church itself is recognised as one of the oldest buildings in Swindon, dating from the 12th century when it was the centre of Lydiard Tregoze.

Appeal chairman Paul Gardner said a new bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund is being drawn up for submission in May.

“Last year’s bid process was very competitive with lots of applications and unfortunately we did not come out on top,” he said.

“They only have £2m a quarter to play with in total. Our project will cost in the region of £1.2m and we were asking for £850,000. That would have been a big chunk of their funds, which they are trying to spread around the South West.

“They gave us some good feedback to improve and we will resubmit our bid in the spring. We need to look at more inclusion for the public with a focus on education and demonstrating the wider benefits.”

Work on the reredos is due to commence this spring ahead of the 400th anniversary of the installation of the St John family polyptych.

“The positive news is we are now able to undertake urgent conservation work to the monument behind the altar to address long-standing damage and water penetration,” Paul said.

“Because we now have around £170,000 in pledges secured we are able to push forward with this one aspect of the work, and we have been aided by a grant to go towards this specific project. That follows into the big bid, which is the renovation of the medieval wall paintings.

“Something tangible is now happening on the ground. The more money we can bring to the table the more attractive our bid is to the Lottery Fund. This is a medium-term project, and the smaller works we are doing will help to inform the bigger bid. We are aiming for a timescale of three to five years, which in the lifespan of the church is the blink of an eye.”