ONE of Oxford’s oldest churches is to undergo a £120,000 refurbishment as it heads into the busy tourist season.

St Michael at the North Gate in Cornmarket Street attracts more than 12,000 visitors each year.

The biggest restoration project in decades for one of Oxford’s oldest buildings will see the church close for a week from June 25.

Church members say they will try to keep disruption to a minimum and stressed that the 1,000-year-old tower will remain open at all times.

The Very Rev Bob Wilkes, the city rector, said: “This is work we have wanted to carry out for a long time. But as we open every day and a lot of people visit us, we want to stop any anxiety that the church will shut for a long period of time.”

The refurbishment has been funded by parishioner donations and the church’s trust fund.

A state-of-the-art sound system has already been installed and work is due to start on a replacement for the 1980s lighting system.

Churchwarden Bob Earl said the scheme included purpose-made chandeliers, discreetly positioned spot-lights and lights that point upward to illuminate the chancel roof.

Once the installations are complete the entire interior of the church will then be redecorated.

St Michael is believed to be the oldest building in the city and was originally situated just within the North Gate of Oxford, protected by the city wall.

It is Grade I listed and was previously restored in the 19th century and again after a major fire in 1953.

The last restoration was to the tower – which dates from around 1050 – in 1986.

Mr Wilkes said: “Of the nine million visitors to Oxford each year, I think seven million of those must walk down Cornmarket, so we are a prominent church.

“We will keep disruption to a minimum and try our best not to close the doors.

“Opening the doors each morning is probably the most important thing we do.

“Over the years, things have just started to wear down.

“We want to make the church a really good public facility. We have an historic place in Oxford and we want to look after what we have.”

The work is planned to be completed by September 29. Apart from the first week, the church will remain open to the public with some restricted access.

The tower will remain open to visitors throughout the work and regular church services will not be affected.

A multi-million pound revamp at University Church of St Mary the Virgin on High Street is half-way through, with the tower expected to reopen within weeks.