Kilkeel-based specialist stone firm Cunningham Stone has completed a £2m restoration project on St Mark’s Church in Newtownards.

The project, which took four years to complete, was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, an Environment and Heritage Service Award, the Representative Church Body Fabric Fund and the fundraising efforts of local parishioners.

Around 90% of the church’s Scrabo stonework was replaced by Cunningham’s as it restored the crumbling building, which dates back to 1816.

Alan Cunningham, sales director for Cunningham Stone, said: “We are very proud of the finished product. It is a fantastic showcase for the company and our dedicated skilled craftsmen.

“There was a huge amount of detailed stonework to replace on the building including tracery windows, buttress quoins and caps, string courses, crenulations, arched balustrades, carved pinnacles and ashlar stone work.

Cunningham Stone has been involved in a series of large restoration projects in recent years including St Peter’s Cathedral in Belfast and Armagh Cathedral in Armagh.