A 500-year-old Suffolk church would have had to close if repairs to the roof costing approximately £300,000 had not taken place, its treasurer has said.

The roof of the Church of St Edmund at Kessingland has been repaired and re-thatched with a grant of nearly £200,000 from the National Heritage Lottery Fund, while the church itself has raised nearly £100,000.

Pat Briggs, the church's treasurer, said: "If the work had not been done, we would have been closed down within a year.

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"If we had not had it done, it was really getting into an emergency state. The 15th century church has been re-thatched in the past, but not for many years."

She said the old ageing roof had been leaking rain water.

The repairs have meant that the Grade I listed church, which is a landmark for seafarers, has been taken off Government body Historic England's Heritage At Risk Register 2024.

The glasshouses in Somerleyton Hall's walled kitchen garden have been put on the At Risk RegisterThe glasshouses in Somerleyton Hall's walled kitchen garden have been put on the At Risk Register (Image: Archant) Brownies, guides, farmers, landowners, gardeners, schools and businesses were all involved in helping to save the church.

However, Victorian glasshouses at Somerleyton Hall stately home have been added to the At Risk Register after showing signs of structural vulnerability and brickwork decay.

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The glasshouses are within the walled kitchen garden, created in 1846 and are thought to have been made by Sir Joseph Paxton, who designed the Crystal Palace, which housed the Great Exhibition of 1851.

A spokesperson for Historic England, which champions England's heritage, said: "The Eastern Peach House is showing signs of structural vulnerability and brickwork decay.

"A strategy for repair and renovation is being developed so that visitors can fully explore the glasshouses.  

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"Currently, some 14 volunteers visit throughout the week for gardening tasks and social interaction.

"A programme of rewilding on the wider estate has created a new nature-based enterprise including education activities and a wellbeing programme."  

READ MORE: Kessingland news