SENSITIVE repairs to a 17th century family monument in St George’s Church at Hinton St George have won a prestigious award.

The John Betjeman Award was given to the Poulett Memorial Chapel and is made for outstanding repairs to the fabric of places of worship in England and Wales completed in the last 18 months.

St George’s Church project leader David Clements said: “This has been an immensely challenging project which has taken six years to bring to completion.”

Crewkerne-based Conservators Lynne Humphries and Emma Norris, of Humphries and Jones, removed the overpaint to reveal the underlying decorative marbling effect, which dated to 1667-69 and is now thought to be the earliest example of scagliola in England.