A 900-year-old Bicester church has closed its doors for three months while the first phase of a £1m refurbishment takes place.

St Edburg’s Church, Church Street, closed its doors on September 1 to make way for builders to move in.

Phase One will cost about £230,000 and will see pews removed, new lighting installed, the building rewired, internal maintenance, redecoration and a new audio visual system.

The second phase involves major work and will cost about £750,000, but will only be completed once funds have been raised. It will involve the interior being re-designed, removal of all the pews, overhaul of the vestry and chapel. The pulpit will also be removed and the font will be made mobile.

Spokesman Stephen Wynne-Jones said: “It has taken 18 months to get from saying we are going to do it to closing the church and doing the work.

“We handed the keys over to the developers last Monday and it’s now closed. We are determined to get the work finished within three months as we don’t want it to interfere with Christmas.”

Services, funerals and baptisms have been moved to the church hall, in Old Palace Yard, and anyone who booked a wedding will now be married at either Bucknell and Launton churches.

To coincide with the move the church has launched two Sunday services, there will be a family service at 9.15am and a regular service at 11am.

The church is expected to re-open the last week of November.

So far the appeal has raised more than £200,000.