An Aberdeenshire church will be closed to worshippers for three months after major structural defects were revealed in the building.
Management at St James’ Episcopal Church in Stonehaven, had called in specialists after they spotted traces of dry rot in the roof of the grade A-listed building.
However, after the structure of the 19th century property was surveyed, the true extent of the problem was revealed.
Now, the church fears the damage could cost more than £30,000 to fix.
David Fleming, buildings convener, said: “We spotted it from the ground and thought it was just one part of the roof.
“It’s called a fruiting body and looks a bit like a giant fried egg on the outside, but it is multi-coloured.
“But once the scaffolding was put up, the specialists discovered it had spread.
“The rot had spread about halfway around the south side of the roof, and it was very much more than we had originally suspected.”
Stronger scaffolding will have to be put in place in order to support the roof when the rotten wood is removed.
The church will now be closed to the public until the middle of September while the work is carried out.
And although the church has already successfully applied for Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) cash, it will now require more funding to cover the repair costs.
Mr Fleming added: “If HLF is not able to give us the necessary cash, we will have to look elsewhere.”
Church services will take place in the hall while two upcoming events will be held in Dunnottar Church.
A pipe and organ concert, with visiting musicians from Germany, will take place there at 7pm on August 5.
A third of the funds will go to St James’ with the rest going to Dunnottar and the participating musicians.
And a book sale will also take place in the church hall as normal in August.
