A LANDMARK church in the heart of Rayleigh has secured a £109,000 handout from English Heritage to stop its tower crumbling into disrepair.

Holy Trinity Church, a Grade II* listed building, won the grant to restore its 15th century tower, which is suffering from erosion in sections of brickwork.

St Peter’s in Paglesham and St Mary’s, Corringham, were also awarded money to restore and preserve churches and keep them in a good state of repair.

Jane Brown, chairman of Holy Trinity Church’s fabric committee, which applied for the cash, said: “Everyone was ecstatic when they heard about the grant.

“We had applied in 2007, but weren’t successful so it’s very good news.”

Mrs Brown said there was erosion of some stonework around the top of the tower, which funnels rainwater away from the face of the tower. This means stonework further down the tower could be damaged which may lead to problems in the future.

The grant will enable restoration work to go ahead, using traditional lime mortar.

St Peter’s in Churchend, Paglesham, which is also Grade II* listed building, received a grant of £49,000, which will help fund the repair of the tower’s silence chamber floor, which helps moderate the sound in the bell ringing chamber.

The cash will also allow for external masonry to be repaired and repointed, and enable repairs to the nave and chancel windows.

The church is well known for the beautiful stained glass window in its west wing, created 126 years ago by oyster merchant Zachary Pettitt in memory of four of his children who died.

St Mary’s Church, in Corringham, is set for a £70,000 revamp, thanks to the cash.

The Grade 1 listed church in Church Road, Old Corringham, boasts a late 11th century tower, nave and chancel, with a later north aisle and north chapel.

The grant is to be spent on re-roofing the tower plus high-level masonry repairs and repointing.

The cash for all three projects comes from a £15.5million scheme run by English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund to support urgent repair work to 150 Grade I and II* listed places of worship across England this week.

Greg Luton, regional director for English Heritage in the East of England, said: “These grants will fund urgent repairs so these wonderful buildings, which are so central to this country’s heritage and identity, can remain in use.”