FIRST held in 2003 the Crediton Parish Church Christmas Tree Festival has grown in popularity and is now a firm date in may people’s calendar as a must see atmospheric seasonal event.

This year, the 14th Christmas Tree Festival will be open from Thursday, December 1 until Sunday, December 4 with opening hours on Thursday and Friday from 11am to 6pm (booked groups from 10am), Saturday from 10.30am to 7pm and for the first time this year, extended opening hours on the Sunday from 11am to 5pm.

There will be 75 community decorated and illuminated trees this year, which are sure to provide a fantastic display for visitors.

Tours to the Governors Room, which contains many amazing artefacts, will be available at 12 noon each day and tours to the bell tower will be available daily at 2pm. The bell tower houses one of only four peals of 12 bells in Devon, a clock and redundant chime barrel dating from 1838 and massive oak beams dating from 1532 – 1540.

Anyone with any questions about Crediton Parish Church, its long history and considerable heritage should ask the stewards.

Church shop items will be for sale in the St Nicholas Chapel.

Bridge Books, from Exeter have again agreed to attend and Anne Jerman will have her bric-a-brac tables in the Boniface Centre raising funds for the Parochial Church Council.

There will be an opportunity to vote for your favourite adult and children’s trees and there will also be a children’s competition. A repeating five minute audio visual presentation will be shown in the Friends Chapel.

Refreshments will be available each day in the Christmas Cracker Café located in the nearby Boniface Centre. During the festival the café will be open from 10am to 5pm daily and from 2pm to 5pm on the Sunday.

For the first time this year there will be two concerts. On the Saturday evening the North Creedy Choral Society will perform Christmas carols and excerpts from Handel’s "Messiah" in the church at 7.30pm. Admission will be priced at £7 for adults with children free.

On the Sunday evening at 6pm the Holy Cross Choir will be in concert with admission priced at £6. Mulled wine and mince pies will be available.

On the Thursday of the Festival, the BBC will be at the Parish Church filming a short programme excerpt about St Boniface and the legend of the Christmas tree for transmission at some point in the run up to Christmas.

St Boniface was born in Crediton around AD680 and legend has it in a stage managed confrontation with the old gods and the heathen tribes at Geismar he felled Thor’s oak and claimed a small fir tree growing amongst the roots of the mighty oak was the symbol of the new religion.

The tree became a sign of Christ in the world for the German peoples, and nowadays it is a universal reminder of Christmas. There are a number of Boniface connections in the church for visitors to look out for.

Bill Jerman, chair of Holy Cross Crediton Campaign Roof Appeal, explained: "As in previous years admission to the Festival is free, but of course, donations are very welcome in the collecting boxes around the church.

"All the funds donated are used towards the upkeep of the building.

"We currently face a particularly challenging time as we strive to not only raise a huge amount of money for extensive roof and other high level repairs, but unexpected urgent repairs have been revealed to the north and south faces of the tower with the recent removal of the clock dials for repainting and gilding. Smaller projects continue to keep the building safe and watertight.

A modestly priced guide about all the decorated and illuminated trees will be available.

The dates for 2017 are Thursday, December 7 to Sunday, December 10.

Tree bookings for 2017, on a first-come, first-served basis, are now being taken and the advice is book early to secure your tree as demand always hugely exceeds the maximum number that can safely be accommodated in the church.