REPAIR work begins today, Monday August 6, to rescue an ’at risk’ Exmoor church – thanks to a £162,000 Heritage Lottery Fund grant.

The medieval tower of St Mary’s Church at Brompton Regis will be 800 years old in 2020, and has been absorbing water through the centuries.

The damp has now become a threat to the church’s historically important Thomas Lewis organ, and the building has been placed on the At Risk register by Historic England.

The acute effects inside the church also include green mould and peeling plaster on the walls, and puddles on the floor in very wet periods.

Preliminary drilling and other investigative works have now been completed, and the full repair and conservation project will get under way next week. It will take nearly a year to complete and will include re-grouting and repointing, stonework repairs, a new tower roof and improved ground drainage.

Churchwarden Malcolm Miller said: “The parish is hugely appreciative of the Heritage Lottery Fund’s commitment to conserving this important part of its heritage for present and future generations.”

The fund will cover the major part of the repair costs, although the parochial church council has also committed legacy money to the project, and has been raising further funding.

The church has also received £10,000 from the National Churches Trust together with £3000 each from the Somerset Churches Trust and Allchurches Trust, plus several smaller but “much appreciated” grants from other charities.

The work is being guided by a Bridgwater-based architectural company, and carried out by a Bristol-based company specialising in historic buildings.