Work to restore a Victorian repository for corpses and human bones to its former glory is nearing completion.

Charnel House in Cliffe will officially re-open to the public on Saturday June 28.

The project is being carried out by Kent firm B W May and Son on behalf of St Helen's Parochial Church Council.

It follows a successful lottery bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund. The Grade II Llisted building, located in the corner of St Helen’s Churchyard, was once used to store dead bodies retrieved from the banks of the river Thames before burial.

Dating back to the 19th century it is thought to be the only surviving example of its kind.