Shakespeare is helping a parish with one of the smallest congregations in Norfolk keep its church open – 400 years after his death.

Eastern Daily Press: Shakespeare themed flower festival and open crypt at St Margaret's Church in Felbrigg. Pictured are Jean and Peter Raynor.Picture: MARK BULLIMOREShakespeare themed flower festival and open crypt at St Margaret's Church in Felbrigg. Pictured are Jean and Peter Raynor.Picture: MARK BULLIMORE (Image: Archant Norfolk 2016)

St Margaret's at Felbrigg can only count 11 people on the electoral roll in its parish and relies on regular fundraisers to survive.

One of the church's attractions is its annual three-day flower festival, which this year celebrates the English bard's legacy on the anniversary of his death and concludes today (Monday).

A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Merchant of Venice, As You Like It, King Lear, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, A Winter's Tale, Richard the Second, Richard the Third, Henry Fifth, Anthony and Cleopatra, The Tempest, and Julius Caesar were all interpreted by arrangers.

Church warden Hilary Kirkland said: 'People say that they get better every year and it's very hard to believe that but I really think they do.

'With a lot of prayers we'd hope to raise around £4000 from the weekend which would be good.'