A MORE multicultural community, a growing band of family churchgoers and a hall that serves as the hub of the Dringhouses community are part of the legacy of departing vicar the Rev Canon Martin Baldock.

He moved to the parish of St Edward the Confessor in Tadcaster Road on Ebor Day in 2000 as the races were in full swing and now leaves the parish in great shape as he retires.

In his last month he was invited by Archbishop Sentamu to be an honorary canon of York Minster, which he says is a very kind gesture.

"My 17 years here have been eventful and there have been changes, but the major thing for me is the people," he said.

"There is a range of different beliefs here and lovely people who welcome everyone. We have parishioners from Europe, Asia and Africa and more young families.

"What has helped is the excellent facilities now that the hall has been refurbished. About 200 children in various groups use it now. It is the hub of Dringhouses."

The £400,000 renovation was a major project and the pivot was Mr Baldock's wife Sue. "I chaired the steering group and was the go-to person," said Mrs Baldock, who works at Bishopthorpe Road Pharmacy.

Before being ordained, Mr Baldock, 65, was a pharmacist and the couple worked in Zambia when it was a war zone and during the struggle for independence in the then Rhodesia.

"It was during my time in Africa that I got the idea of becoming a minister," he said.

After a curacy near Bristol and 11 years in South Yorkshire in the former pit village of Brampton, the Baldocks came to York.

He served as a chaplain at both St Leonard's Hospice and York College and was rural dean for York from 2004-11.

"We have seen so many positive changes here. As children play sport on Sundays now and their families are tied up, we are getting more toddlers and mothers on weekdays.

"The congregation has increased from 120 to 150, two members have been ordained and others have joined the lay ministry. We have encouraged people into the church and that is a nice way to leave it."

The Baldocks are moving to Newark to be within easy distance of their family.