AS the bells of St Mary's rang out over Prestwich, visitors flocked to the church for a patronal and heritage festival on Saturday (Sept 12).

For the first time, the church and Prestwich Heritage Society joined forces and invited people to get a taste of a traditional medieval event.

There were demonstrations of medieval crafts such as quilting, embroidery, wicker weaving and ceramics and lots of children's activities, including face painting and a balloon race.

The church opened its doors on Saturday and Sunday, conducting tours of the Grade I listed building and tower and offering visitors the chance to have a go at bell ringing.

But the highlight of the afternoon was a 1,267 kilo ox called "Big Boy", who was invited for a 'guess the weight of the ox' attraction.

Secretary of Prestwich Heritage Society, Sandra Grimshaw, said: "Big Boy was a real star. He was very docile and attracted a lot of attention. We were very lucky with the weather as the rain held off until two minutes after 5pm. People returned on Saturday evening for a medieval concert by Tapestry of Music, which was really special. Overall the event was a success."

Rev Bryan Hackett, the curate at St Mary's, said: "This is the first time the church and heritage society has come together on a project like this and, as a result, it opened up the church to the wider community. We had queues of people waiting to go up the tower and the whole day provided a feel good factor. We even had people admitting they had lived in Prestwich for 40 years and never been up the tower."