A secluded church on the outskirts of Fakenham has been given a massive boost from a Lottery fund. Holy Trinity Church, at Hempton, is to get a £47,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund and English Heritage.

A secluded church on the outskirts of Fakenham has been given a massive boost from a Lottery fund.

Holy Trinity Church, at Hempton, is to get a £47,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund and English Heritage.

It is part of £388,000 of repair grants for Grade II listed places of worship in Norfolk.

The largest grant is to be given to St Mark's Church, in Lakenham, which is to get £251,000 to renew its leaking roof.

All Saints in Hainford will receive £90,000.

Holy Trinity church was originally a fairly small early Victorian church, designed by John Henry Hakewell, and comprised of a simple single decorative chancel building, a spokesman for English Heritage said.

This was later extended, as intended, in the 1950s with the addition of a modern nave building that includes two side chapels, a gallery and a church room.

The building is predominantly built of flint, however the roof tiles are in a particularly poor condition along with the belfry which is showing signs of water leakage inside the church. The grant of £47,000 will help the church to investigate, develop and undertake the essential work required to repair the roofs, gutters and bellcote at Holy Trinity, estimated to cost around £160,000.

The Church of England currently spends £120m a year on repairs, but according to English Heritage research the backlog repair bill for all listed places of worship in England is an estimated £925m over the next five years, or £185m a year.