Southend's town centre church has undergone a £390,000 transformation to show its true glory for the first time in years.

St John's Church is tucked away near the Royals shopping centre and the Palace Hotel which is being revamped by the University of Essex.

The Rev Stephen Burdett, rector of Southend and churchwarden Kay Ward, have masterminded the refurbishment of the 19th century church to make it a religious focal point in the heart of the town.

Following fundraising and a bequest by Rosie Bray, daughter of a former Southend councillor, the revamp has left St John's with new flooring, spectacular colour floodlighting for its stained glass windows and a general sense of openness.

Most of the original pews have been retained and restored in the transformed church, but a new space by the doors allows the font, now on a marble setting, to be shown to its full effect.

The First World War memorial and others in the church have also been restored.

Mr Burdett said: "We are hoping the church can again be a focal point at the end of the High Street, linked with the refurbishment of the Palace Hotel and with Pier Hill itself."

St John's now boasts a new area which can be used as meeting rooms by local organisations as well as space within the church itself.

Mr Burdett said: "There was a lot of clutter around the area and now we can show off the treasures we have at St John's in their full glory."

"We have had two or three crises while the work was going on.

"The worst was when we had a wedding and the day before when the bride came to the church, the cherrypicker was still dealing with the lighting.

"I had to reassure her that everything would be all right in the end and it proved to be successful because everyone pulled together."

St John's has many memorials to some of Southend's founding fathers including a screen in memory of early mayor John Rumbelow Bright-well.

There is also a stained glass window in the parish office which is in memory of a couple who were a dedicated postmaster and postmistress in the developing town, a century ago.

It was put up by public subscription, not just by residents, but also by visitors to the town.

About 20 years ago, St John's was threatened with possible closure when a review was carried out by the Diocese of Chelmsford into the Anglican churches in the centre of Southend.

The choice fell instead on St Erkenwald's on the corner of Southchurch Avenue and York Road.

After a long planning dispute and a fire, St Erkenwald's church was demolished and replaced by flats.