A FORMER teacher from the Ribble Valley is set to publish a book about his experiences as a Church welcomer.

Norman Thorpe, 92, has put together articles he wrote over the past few years for the Whalley Parish Church magazine.

The former Clitheroe Royal Grammar School teacher started compiling the articles after volunteering as a welcomer at church during the week and being asked an assortment of questions.

Anything Norman didn't know the answer to, he searched for tirelessly and it has gradually built up into a 88-page long historical resource for the church.

Whalley resident Catherine Duckworth, a member of the Whalley local history group, said: "I read the articles and thought they were worthy of being put together into a book of some form.

"There are 46 articles in the book which ring reference to the origins of place names through various things connected to the Church.

"The articles span a variety of subjects from the origin of local place names through Alexander Nowell the Dean of St Paul's, Westminster and inventor of bottled beer; the a?ect locally of the civil war; witchcraft; stained glass and the unique and important misericords."

Norman Thorpe's book, priced at £9.90, will be available to purchase from the Whalley History Society History Room at the Old Grammar School during Heritage Weekend.

There will be 40 copies available to buy, with most of the proceeds going to the Parish Church.