Church spire given largest grant

The grade I listed All Saints Church, Boyne Hill, was built in 1857

A Berkshire church spire will be restored to its former glory with English Heritage's largest ever grant for a single project.

All Saints Church, at Boyne Hill, Maidenhead, has been awarded £754,000, in conjunction with Heritage Lottery funding, to fix its spire.

The 150ft (45m) structure at the grade I listed church needs urgent attention.

The money is part of an annual package worth £17.5m for repairs to 153 grade I and II listed churches in the UK.

Simon Thurley, chief executive of English Heritage, said: "All Saints, Boyne Hill, is an extreme example of what the Inspired! campaign illustrated.

"This is not a case of neglect or lack of maintenance - it is simply a Victorian church which, after 150 years, is beginning to show its age."

All Saints, Boyne Hill, was built in 1857 and paid for by local philanthropists.

It was built to serve a growing community of people attracted to the area by the opening of the Great Western Railway in Maidenhead in 1840.