Its pews barely hold 30 people, although by cramming chairs into the nave and chancel for special services the congregation at All Saints Church Waterden can swell to more than 80.

But despite its popularity there was a risk the church, one of the smallest in England, would fall into rack and ruin - going the same way as the ‘lost village’ next door, which disappeared in the Middle Ages.

But the future of All Saints has now been secured, following a £270,000 restoration programme mostly funded by National Lottery Heritage Fund.