The closing deadline for bids for two paintings in a silent auction to raise funds to restore the Holy Trinity Church organ in Bradford on Avon is drawing nigh.

Anyone who wishes to bid for the two large framed paintings – one an original and the other a print – should submit their bids by 5pm on Sunday, 2 July.

Vernon Burchell, one of the fundraisers, said: “We are looking to attract bids with a minimum value of £100 on the bidding sheet in the church.”

The silent auction has been organised to help raise a further £70,000 needed to restore and enlarge the organ at Holy Trinity Church.

One of them is an allegorical painting by local artist Jeanne Walpole depicting historic events at Holy Trinity Church from circa 700AD to the end of the Second World War. The painting has never been copied and has never been on the open market.

It was privately commissioned by John and Annette Seekings, on their purchase of Horton’s House in 1999, and features Jeanne’s version of Church Street history. It is a sequel to her well-known series on Bradford on Avon history on which the local ‘Tapestry’ is based.

The other is a print depicting the Holy Trinity Garden Party that took place in Church Street in 1986. It features members of the then St Laurence School Wind Band playing outside Holy Trinity Church.

It was originally painted by London artist Alfred Daniels, who has sometimes been called the ‘Lowry of the South’. Daniels had visited Bradford on Avon in 1986 to attend an exhibition of some of his earlier works.

He used the occasion to prepare for sale a series of paintings on Bradford on Avon, including the garden party that happened to be taking place at the time. Most of these were subsequently acquired by Lord Bath for his private collection at Longleat.

The church organ was originally installed in 1926 by its makers, Henry Willis, but is being repaired and restored because it was in a very poor state. The repairs and restoration have been completed by organ builders, Harrison and Harrison, of Durham, as part of a £300,000 package.

They have installed a new action and new and enlarged pipework to improve its sound and performance. More pipework will be added to enlarge the organ once the funds are raised.

Over the past two years Holy Trinity Church has undergone a £2 million package of restoration work and repairs, which have included new underfloor heating, new lighting and new oak furniture.