WORK to restore precious 15th Century artefacts in an iconic Darlington church has been given a £2,000 boost by volunteers.

The money was raised through a prize draw hosted by the Friends of St Cuthbert’s Church and will go towards the planned restoration of the carved wooden misericords in the chancel of the grade I-listed church.

Around 1,500 tickets were sold for the draw, which was drawn by town crier, Peter Stemmer, and included a number of prizes donated by a range of organisations.

Prizes included first class travel to Kings Cross for two adults and two children, with Grand Central, family tickets for the Wensleydale and Weardale railways, as well as tickets for Beamish Museum and movie and tea tickets at Richmond Station.

The misericords were brought into the church sometime between 1406 and 1427 but have not been restored for around 150 years. They look like wooden pews but are all individual.

Efforts to restore the misericords is the latest piece of positive news for the church, after it was announced in October that it had won essential funding support for roof repairs.

Heritage Lottery Fund money will be available for repairs to the lead roof coverings and high-level stonework.