Parishioners from a West Oxford church are celebrating after winning a £50,000 grant to restore its Victorian organ.

They learned on Sunday that their bid for National Lottery funding to restore the 130-year-old organ at St Frideswide's Church, in Botley Road, had been successful.

Parish priest Father Russell Dewhurst said he was delighted to hear the news and was looking forward to having the organ restored to its former glory.

He said: "It's absolutely marvellous news.

"It's a very small parish and the total cost of the renovation is going to come in at around £70,000, and to get all of that from a relatively small group of people would have been beyond our means.

"We can raise the rest of the money through fundraising events, but this is an enormous boost to us and will help preserve this for the community."

During the restoration process, local schools will be invited to visit the church and learn about the restoration process and the importance of conservation.

Mr Dewhurst said: "I think it will be fantastic for children to learn about the work and it's importance to the future."

A series of recitals will also be arranged for the local community to come along and hear the organ at its best and it will be made available to the public for practice and tuition.

Restoring the organ would also mean preserving an instru- ment that is of importance to the nation's cultural inheritance, Mr Dewhurst added.

He said: "Because we've always been a fairly poor church, we've never had huge amounts of cash to throw around.

"This means that it has never been significantly altered over the years, unlike many other churches.

"It's this heritage aspect that I think helped us secure the grant as the National Lottery realised its importance as an original instrument that is a significant part of national musical heritage."

A date for the start of the restoration is yet to be confirmed, but Mr Dewhurst said they hoped to start dismantling the organ later this year.