The cricket season may have long since finished but Brian Cosgrove is still keeping himself busy.

Cosgrove is at an age where he rarely plays now but he is still the driving force behind the thriving junior section at Gotherington Cricket Club where he is ably assisted by his wife Yvonne.

The Cosgroves are big into village life at the place that has been home for them since the back end of the last century and Brian is currently one of a new local charity’s trustees that is buying a historic building in the village.

The building is The Old Chapel in Gretton Road, right in the heart of the village, and the charity is The Old Chapel Community Project.

The aim is to ensure that The Old Chapel, which dates back to 1833, is protected from potential residential development.

“The Old Chapel Community Project Charity was formed by local Gotherington residents to protect one of the village’s most historic buildings and to make it available for future use by the local community,” explained Cosgrove.

“The Old Chapel was owned by The Countess of Huntingdon Connexion and served as a base for local church services and community activities until 2016, when it was closed due to the need for significant expenditure on maintenance and refurbishment in the short and medium term.

“Following lengthy discussions, initially led by Gotherington Parish Council, a decision was taken by a group of residents to purchase the property directly from the Countess of Huntingdon Connexion, the aim being to secure the building for the community.

“The Old Chapel Community Project successfully raised the required £50,000 purchase price within six months via donations from residents and a grant from the local Parochial Church Council.

“The charity’s trustees are now in the process of making applications for grants in order to undertake a renovation and refurbishment of the building. In the meantime, a major internal refurbishment has taken place, so the building can be made available to community groups and for private bookings while the funds are being sought for the full renovation.”

The Old Chapel will be officially opened by Edward Gillespie OBE, Lord-Lieutenant of Gloucestershire, on Saturday 3rd November at 1pm. The occasion will be the first official engagement conducted by Mr Gillespie, a resident of Gotherington, in his new position as Lord-Lieutenant.

John Whitehead, chairman of The Old Chapel Community Project, said: “We are absolutely delighted that with the excellent support of local residents and the Parochial Church Council, we have been able to purchase a historic building that is situated in the heart of our wonderful village, in order to secure it for future use by the community.”

Noel Valelly, of the Countess of Huntingdon Connexion, added: “The Countess of Huntingdon Connexion is delighted that the future of The Old Chapel has been secured by the community. We wish the trustees every success as they renovate and refurbish the building.”

And also very pleased is mum of three young children Jenny Ross, a Gotherington resident, who said: “My friends and I regularly walk past The Old Chapel as it’s in the centre of our village. We’re really looking forward to being able to use it for our children’s birthday parties and other events.”

Meanwhile, Brian Cosgrove will obviously be at the official opening of The Old Chapel next month even though he is currently recovering from an ankle operation.

It has meant that he hasn’t been able to do much work on the village’s cricket ground – he’s the club’s groundsman – in recent weeks.

“I’ve just started the physio on my ankle,” he said, “and Yvonne said I wasn’t to push a mower!”

But typical Brian, he came up with a solution.

“In the absence of any other volunteers, Yvonne’s cutting the square,” he laughed.