A £465,000 renovation project at a church in Oxford has been completed, revealing historic shields and a cross dating back to the 14th century.

In January singers at St Mary Magdalen Church staged a concert of choral works lasting 24 hours to launch fundraising for the project.

Work started at the church in Magdalen Street, which dates back about 1,000 years, in July and it will reopen for services next month.

Fr Peter Groves, vicar at the church, said staff knew the shields existed but they could not be seen very well as the interior was poorly lit and they were covered with dust.

He said: "Each individual shield has now been cleaned by our expert restorer Laura Stevens.

"And in the Lady Chapel, which was built in the 14th century, we found a consecration cross which would have been cut into stonework to mark the completion of the chapel.

"We didn't know it was there – we simply hadn't see it because it was buried under layers of dirt.

"We hope these discoveries will attract new people into the church.

"It is now much better lit and feels transformed – it should be much more welcoming for everyone."

Churchwarden, Nigel Speight, said: "We are all delighted with the work done by the Kidlington firm Richard Ward.

"We can now imagine how the main body of the church looked when it was built in the 15th century.

"Thanks to Laura Stevens' work we now have clear images of the 16 beautiful shields decorating the nave roof timbers, dating from the Gilbert Scott restoration work of 1840."

Mr Speight said High Mass would return to the church on Advent Sunday, December 3, at 10.30am, with a carol service the following Sunday, at 4.30pm and other Christmas services to follow as usual.

The official reopening will take place over the weekend of February 3 and February 4, when the main speaker will be Lord Williams of Oystermouth, previously Archbishop of Canterbury.

In January 2015 architects discovered serious problems with the roof during their five-yearly inspection.

Many tiles were cracked and the lead guttering where the nave roof joins the roofing over the side aisles was suffering from old age, and sometimes letting water in.

The work involved re-roofing with natural Welsh slates, and replacing the worn-out lead.

Several sections of the church's organ were also removed for protection and much-needed repair.

During the renovation the church interior was rewired, cleaned and redecorated, with new lighting installed.

Keble College Chapel invited the congregation to worship there for Sunday High Mass when St Mary Magdalen Church was closed.

For the Mary Mags Festival Weekend on February 3 and February 4, members of the clergy who have been connected with the church in the past will be invited.

The church is also marking 20 years of our choir in its current form, and will invite back as many singers as possible.

A St Mary Magdalen School of Theology will also be launched.

Director of music Will Dawes led a concert performance in January of the complete Latin works of Renaissance composer William Byrd over a 24-hour period.