The Tower in Gretton, also formally known as St Philip’s Chapel of Ease, has been standing in the village for hundreds of years.

Founded as a place of worship in the 11th century, the Tower is all that remains of the church that was thought to have been built in the Saxon era.

The building of a new church in 1868 saw the chapel fall into disuse, and four years ago a local group called the Gretton Tower Trust was formed to help stop the rot.

Paul White, who has lived in Gretton for 27 years, is part of the Trust and explained the thinking behind setting it up.

He said: “Gretton Tower Trust was formed by local villagers four years ago to save the historic old church tower, for the benefit of the local and wider community.

“In particular the Cotswold stone tiled roof is in disrepair with slates falling off, exposing the rafters and other internal timbers.”

The Trust holds regular fundraisers in the local area to raise money for the Tower, and this month a special concert will be held by local band Slâinte to try and help out.

Paul, who also happens to play bass with Slâinte, hopes the concert will be as popular as a previous event they played in the village, when they managed to raise over £1,000.

Paul broadly describes Slâinte’s music as Celtic, a fusion of folk and Irish/Scottish traditional music with a modern up-tempo twist.

The name Slâinte comes from the Gaelic word for ‘health’ and is used as a drinking toast, which is apt for a group that do plenty of gigs in local pubs and venues around the area.

He continued: “The band has been together, in one format or another, for 30-odd years producing three CDs, several European tours and literally hundreds of gigs.

“We play traditional songs, jigs and reels from slow ballads with delicate arrangements to 100mph fiddle tunes.”

Alongside Paul in the band are Joe White, Mark Harmer, Streak Paterson and Alan Jenkins, all of whom are from the wider Cotswolds area.

Paul continued: “Mark, our harp player, is the newcomer to the band having only been around for the last 15 years!

“Between us we play nearly 20 instruments including harp, flute, pipes, guitars, bodhran, mandolin, fiddle, banjo and more. Not all at the same time!”

Slâinte will be playing the Gretton Village Hall on Saturday 23rd November.

Tickets are £10 and can be bought or reserved from Jan Taylor at Kingsmead, Working Lane, Gretton, GL54 5EU or by calling 01242 603234.

For more information on the Gretton Tower Trust visit www.grettontower.org.uk

For more information on Slâinte visit www.celtmusic.co.uk