AN HISTORIC church built in celebration of Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo is now swathed in plastic sheeting at the start of massive £215,000 restoration work.

St Paul's Church, Shipley, is known as a "Waterloo Church" and one of dozens paid for from £1 million provided by the then government, delighted by Wellington's victory.

Completed in 1826, it stood in a dominant spot above the small village of Shipley and could accommodate 1,488 people and at the time was bigger than Bradford Cathedral.

But in recent years the roof, which was last repaired 90 years ago with secondhand slates, has deteriorated so badly that major sections needed urgent replacement.

"We really did have buckets dotted around to catch rainwater from all the leaks, it was that bad," said Curate, the Reverend Malcolm Hendry.

However hard work by the St Paul's Reader, Chris Clough, secured a £145,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund which is paying the majority of the dramatic repairs to the worst side of the roof, Rev Henry said.

"It's 99 per cent down to Chris, who did a fantastic job in getting funding."

Mr Clough said the church had a fascinating history and a condition of getting funding was that its heritage should be promoted in the community.

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"There's so much history - originally it would have been very plain inside with no stained glass windows, old box pews and the vicar at the front who was only lit by a single candle flame," retired business expert Mr Clough said.

"The Victorian oak pews were only added in 1876 as part of 50th anniversary celebrations."

Congregation sizes now hover around the hundred mark, but Mr Clough said it could still be well-filled for events and especially for Remembrance Day - now the most attended date in the Church of England calendar.

"We also have concerts here and have two big choirs for adults and juniors," he said.

Mr Hendry said there was a real excitement at St Paul's now that the scaffolding and sheeting were in place.

"People are thinking 'wow' - because finally it's all moving incredibly fast.

"It's great because it really makes the church feel like it's moving forward," he said.

St Paul's in Kirkgate will host a special forum tomorrow when community heritage groups including the Friends of various Aire Valley parks, walkers' groups and historical societies will gather for talks and discussion.

And 27 groups have signed up for the Heritage Exchange, which is being co-ordinated by John Bromley.

"I hope we can make this an annual event and everyone can network online until the next one as we are looking to set up a Facebook page," Mr Bromley said.

The event will run from 10am to 4pm and will include displays, speakers, slides and an opportunity for groups to talk to each other.

Further details are available from John Bromley at lclheritage@outlook.com or by calling 01274 580875.