The church, Old St Stephen's near Robin Hood's Bay, was built in 1822 on a site where there had previously been religious buildings.

Although small, it has been retained with its original features intact, including a triple decker pulpit, box pews, galleries and a cupola bell turret.

It also has memorials to sailors lost at sea and in the churchyard there are several hundred gravestones, some dating from more than two centuries ago.

Mr Freeman said: "It's very unspoilt and there are so many lovely views of it.

"I've painted it a lot over the years and I thought it would be a nice thing to do to donate some money to help towards its upkeep."

The watercolour painting shows three different aspects of the church.

Five hundred prints have been made of it, each signed and numbered.

They will sell for £25 each with £10 from every sale going to a fund for the upkeep of the church.

Deb Gillanders, spokeswoman for the Friends of Old St Stephen's, said: "Everyone who comes to see the church thinks it's wonderful and we're very grateful to John.

"It's a really generous gesture to give us a donation from his prints."

She explained the church is known as Old St Stephen's to distinguish it from a later St Stephen's Church built in the area in 1870 and went on: "It has an interesting history and one vicar, the Rev Robert Germyn Cooper, who didn't like it, locked it up and ignored it.

"But ironically, by doing that, he prolonged its life.

"It's late Georgian architecture and the stone used to build it contains magnetic iron nodules from the Cleveland ironstone seam which affects compasses."

Captain Storm of the same Whitby family as the novelist Storm Jameson, is buried in the churchyard and one of the church's most uncommon features are four maidens' garlands.

Made of silk ribbons, they were placed on the coffins of women who died unmarried.

Mr Freeman's picture of the church is on display in his shop window in Whitby and one of the prints will be on display in the church from Easter onwards.