CONSERVATION work at a historic Lydiard Park church uncovered a hidden head of a saintly stone statue which had been buried under rubble for hundreds of years.

The unexpected find happened while conservationists neared the end of a £1.1 million project to restore St Mary’s Church to its former glory.

Chair of the project Paul Gardner said: “Behind one of the wall plaques above the pews, we found an intact niche carved into the wall. One of our students noticed a face in the mud and it was of St Christopher.

“During the Reformation in 1547, all religious imagery in the church was painted over and smashed up, so the masons tasked with destroying their own work must have hidden a piece of that statue away for someone to find all these years later.

“The statue in this ornate niche looked out towards the side doorway welcoming travellers and pilgrims to the church. To see that same sight, complete with a restored wall painting of Thomas Becket above it, is really special.

“You can plot the life of the church through the artefacts in here, each century leaves its own mark, it’s like travelling through time."

Scaffolding that helped the team of experts and students – led by world-renowned conservator Jane Rutherfoord – carry out weeks of painstaking and meticulous work has now been taken down so that visitors can enjoy the newly-restored wall paintings.

Jane will return in February to add the finishing touches to the restoration work after eco-friendly plumbing and heating is installed. After the project is complete, a display case will be installed for guests to see what’s left of the St Christopher statue and the rubble that buried it.

Paul added: “The ceiling has been repainted to make the church a lot lighter. We have brought out a unique wall painting of Christ that depicts him as blond with no beard. Jane has worked on many church restorations in Europe and has never seen anything like it, you can imagine how amazing it must have looked.

“We’ve put the Royal Coat of Arms back under the nave arch with a new horn for the unicorn and repainted figures above it.

The church is open to visitors on Fridays until November and most weekends until 2020 before closing until spring.