FOURTEEN gardens in Chagford will open later this month to raise money for St Michael's Church — including a garden recently refurbished thanks to a £20,000 project.

Last December, the Chagford Combined Charity was offered £10,000 by the BIG Lottery Fund to construct new walls for the garden of Endecott House, the 16th century community building managed day-to-day by the charity for the benefit of parishioners of Chagford.

The walls, which will make the garden safe to use by the community, replace the old walls, which have subsided. The donation raises the total for the project to around £20,000, which meant the project could get the go-ahead.

The rest of the money has been raised from other grants, including donations from West Devon Borough Council, Marjorie and Geoffrey Jones Trust, the Wake Fund, at St Austell Brewery, and fundraisers have raised £4,000 for the project.

The garden will have its official opening over the weekend.

Among the other 13 gardens are a courtyard garden at the Old School to moorland gardens and gardens close to the centre of Chagford.

The funds raised will go towards the upkeep of the church.

Entry costs £5 to include a detailed programme of the gardens, available from Cross Tree, next to the church.

The gardens will be open on Saturday, July 27 and Sunday, July 28 from 11am to 5pm.