Church receives £200k grant for urgent repairs

A church in need of urgent repairs has received a grant of about £200,000 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

The money has gone to St Mary the Virgin Church in East Bergholt, just north of the Suffolk/Essex border.

The £199,460 will be used to restore the roof and modify the interior of the Grade I listed building, which dates back to the 14th Century.

The church said it had further plans to apply for a full National Lottery grant of more than £1m.

The Reverend Chris Willis said: "I am very grateful for the team who have poured so much time and energy into exploring the options for funding for essential repairs to this beautiful historic building which is such a central part of our village heritage.

"We have a real opportunity to ensure that St Mary's remains a place of worship fit for future generations."

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