A 14TH century church has received £131,000 to help restore the historical place of worship to its former glory.
The grant, from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), will be used to repair structural and decorative elements of St Christopher's Church, in Willingale.
The Grade II-listed building is one of two churches in the churchyard of the leafy village – the second being the older and disused St Andrew's.
The restoration work at St Christopher's includes the replacement of crosses that adorn the roof and the replacement of structural masonry, known as quoins, along with the repair of one window.
Money will also go towards installing a new heating system.
Work is set to be completed by the summer of 2014.
Jane Cass, churchwarden and secretary to the Parochial Church Council, said: "This money will help restore the church to its former glory.
"It will ensure the church will carry on standing for many years to come and will make the outside match the inside.
"We try to do a lot the restoration and maintenance ourselves, but in this case we realised that the work was far too complicated.
"The church is in a beautiful location and has the Essex Way passing through the churchyard.
"It is amazing to find out we have received this funding.
"It would have been impossible to do the work without it."
The 61-year-old continued: "We're delighted that the Heritage Lottery Fund has given us this support.
"The church is very important for historical and landscape reasons but needing repairs.
"This project will restore the church and sustain its importance in the landscape.
"The new heating, along with all the other work that has been done inside, will make the church suitable for a wide range of purpose.
"It is very exciting and rewarding to be part of a revitalisation of the building and people associated with it."
Robyn Llewellyn, head of HLF East of England, said; "There is a place of worship in almost every village and town across the eastern counties of England, providing a very powerful visual connection with our past.
"Not only will Lottery players' money help to secure the immediate survival of these remarkable buildings, it will also encourage congregations to adapt these buildings so they can be enjoyed more widely throughout the community, and in turn enable them to be more sustainable for the future."
Built in 1320, and extended extensively over the years, St Christopher's Church was last year restored on the inside, also with the help of a Lottery grant.
As part of this restoration the bells were restored by members of the community.
