A NICHE on the outside tower of Cirencester Parish Church will be inspected and measured ahead of the commissioning of a replacement statue of St John the Baptist, which was nicknamed Black Jack.

The Friends of Cirencester Parish Church have hired a cherry picker  to carry out the work between 9am and 5.30 pm on Monday, July 20.

The original statue occupied the north-west niche, which is being inspected, while another was situated in the south-west niche. Both were removed in 1963 when they were deemed unsafe and they were eventually destroyed when a storage shed burned down.

The exploratory work is due to take place between 9am and 5.30pm on Monday, July 20 and will be led by renowned local sculptor Rory Young, who has been asked to design and carve the new statue.

 Leader of Cotswold District Council, Lynden Stowe, said: “We had some unexpected surplus income from parking last year during the periods when we suspended charges for motorists at all our car parks during Monday and Tuesday afternoons in January and February. Of that windfall we thought it would be appropriate to support a project which would be appreciated by most Cirencester residents and others visiting the town – hopefully, for many centuries to come!”

“I very much hope that this gesture will inspire other organisations, businesses and residents to get behind this appeal when it gets off the ground, and we can all help to restore a landmark in the history of Cirencester.”

David Lloyd, the Chairman of the Friends of Cirencester Parish Church said: “We are very grateful to the council for their promise of a donation, and we are very excited at the prospect of the statue becoming a major attraction. We have already had a lot of interest from people who have heard about our plans, including Earl Bathurst, and we look forward to more donors coming forward soon to help us reach our financial target.”

The Friends are hoping to raise between £75,000 and £80,000 to pay for the replacement statue.

The St John statue was apparently christened ‘Black Jack’ over 250 years ago when a nearby house caught fire and stained the stonework.

Full details of how to donate to the appeal will be available once the assessment of the work necessary for the niche has been completed.

Cotswold District Council has announced that it will donate £2,500 to the Friends appeal when it is up and running.

 For more information about the St John the Baptist Parish Church, visit www.cirenparish.co.uk