The doors, thought to date back to around 1470, have been taken down and replaced by glass ones.
The oak doors will be reinstalled roughly 20cm further into the building.
There has been some confusion over the changes, with some islanders thinking that the oak doors were being destroyed or removed permanently.
However churchwarden Ruth Abernethy said ‘that is not the case at all’.
‘We will be moving the oak doors 20cm further into the building – we will have two sets of doors.
‘The glass doors will make the church more accessible – people will be able to see into the building so they’ll know they are welcome.’
Some have reportedly reacted negatively to the change, including Dr Matthew Craske, of Oxford Brookes University.
He said initially he was ‘shocked’ to see that the oak doors had been replaced, especially seeing as the doors were the oldest surviving fittings of the church.
However, after realising the doors were going to be reinstalled, he said it was acceptable, so long as it was for preservation.
‘It is fair if they wanted to do this to preserve the doors, but not so fair if the fundamental reasons were liturgical. The one is necessary, the other is aesthetically desirable.’
Reasoning for the new doors largely revolves around reparations and preservation of the door.
‘The oak doors are very old and historical – they have been suffering being exposed to the weather and pollution,’ said Ms Abernethy
‘The hinges have been rusting and splitting the stone wall, leaving cracks in the stone.’
The oak door will be coming off the wall for repairs. The wood will be treated and the stone wall will be repaired.
‘The hinges will also be preserved and reused,’ she said.
‘Nothing historical has been damaged – we have taken proper, professional advice and we have specialists undertaking the work.
‘It will allow us to conserve the doors for a longer period of time.’
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