A chapel designed to honour those who died in the First World War has been restored to its former glory, 72 years after being damaged by a bomb in the Second World War.

The work has been carried out on St George's War Memorial at St Mark's Church in Lakenham, Norwich, following a £12,700 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).

And to celebrate the work and mark the centenary of the outbreak of WW1, the Bishop of Norwich will rededicate the chapel at a special service on Wednesday, September 3 at 7.30pm.

Nearly 100 years worth of grime has been meticulously removed from the painted wooden panels of the war memorial and the rederos, designed by famous church architect Temple Moore, has been expertly repaired by the Skillington Workshop in Grantham.

On the altar in the chapel will be a Book of Remembrance, listing the names of the fallen week by week, with the colours of the now-defunct local branches of the Royal British Legion laid up on either side of it.

On the wall is a memorial tablet to Corporal Sidney Day, a former pupil of St Mark's School and choirboy at the church, who was awarded the Victoria Cross in 1917.

Church treasurer, Peter Phillips, invited everyone to come and see the stunning transformation of the small but vital area of St Mark's.

'They have done the most wonderful job,' he said.

'It looks really nice and we are very pleased. Everyone is welcome to come along to the rededication service and to come and visit the church during the Heritage Open Days in September, when there will be an exhibition about Lakenham at War.'

On Saturday, September 27, the Norfolk Concordia will be performing a concert at the church featuring tunes associated with WW1.

Tickets, priced at £5, are available from the church on Wednesdays between 11.30am and 2.30pm and on Sundays between 11am and 11.30am or on the door on the night.

As part of the HLF grant, the church is also carrying out a project with pupils from the Hewett School, who will be researching individual servicemen from the war memorial.

Are you involved in a heritage project? Email newsdesk@archant.co.uk