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Hot on the heels of a celebration of fine fashion through the ages, a different kind of design will be the focus of a church’s next fundraising event.

The Advertiser reported last year about the major work going on to restore St Nicholas Church in Willoughby and also to bring its facilities up to date – and that has seen a rich variety of events to boost the money received from the National Lottery Heritage Fund for the restoration and from other sources.

Last week saw the fashion show – with the twist of churchwarden Karen Nichols dressing up in memorable outfits from the past between the main features – but on Sunday, April 16, anything goes when it holds a scarecrow festival.

This runs from 1.30pm-4.30pm, with families and village organisations invited to build a scarecrow to be displayed in the church.

Back to the future... Willoughby churchwarden Karen Nichols brought history to life at last Thursday's fashion show as she donned a variety of outfits from across the decades.

There will also be crafts for children to make crowns and Commonwealth flags for the coronation, refreshments – plus a prize for the best scarecrow.

In terms of the said the ongoing projects, Mrs Nichols said things were going well and the village has continued to receive good news: “Our nave roof is complete and looking amazing as is the stonework repairs to date – we still have some more to do there.

“We have started the community garden using volunteers and the area is nearly all dug over.

"Our next step is to lay concrete slabs for a seating area with a very special feature from the church.”

A dramatic moment from the church's Tudor Shrove Tuesday event.

Other recent events have included a Tudor Shrove Tuesday event in the church and churchyard, with children having a go at jousting, courtesy of a giant scarecrow, jousts and hobby horses, plus pancakes in church.

This spirit will be repeated in a heritage weekend in July which also has a Viking re-enactment, morris dancers, birds of prey, hula hooping and circus skills, among others.

In terms of the further good news, Mrs Nichols said: “In addition, the village hall has also managed to secure just over £9,000 towards a new kitchen from the Lottery Community Fund.

"So we are a very lucky village. This is on top of another grant and work can start here as enough funds are in place now.

"Community-wise it is a pretty amazing village.”

Fundraising fun continues apace at historic Rugby village church