A CHURCH in Wortley is going digital after reaching its target to create an interactive churchyard.
Len’s Friends, a community group for St Leonard’s Church in Wortley, started an online campaign to raise funds for digital mapping technology.
The group wants to create an interactive 3D map of the churchyard which will detail every floor of the church. It will also allow users to access church archives including burial records and personal family tree research.
The initial target for the project was to raise £750 by August 29, however they have now beaten this target and raised more than £760 with five days left to donate.
Barbara Lee, from the Len’s Friends group, said: “We’d been doing some tidying up in the churchyard when we first started the Len’s Friends group, and we uncovered some old gravestones. We started researching into those which gave us an idea.
“We then went to a conference and came across this digital mapping service which we thought was a good way of getting extra information about the church to a wider audience, and then it took off from there.”
Andrew Beever, also a member of the community group, added: “We think the response has been fantastic. The entire group is absolutely thrilled with the money raised and now we can finally get the ball rolling.
“People can explore our churchyard through their screens and be taken on a virtual tour of St Leonard’s Church.”
