THE oldest church in Basildon has officially re-opened after a £50,000 revamp to replace part of the roof and redecorate inside.

All Saints Church, in London Road, Vange, opened its doors again on Saturday after being closed for four months whilst work was carried out.

Prior to the revamp, the roof would regularly leak and dust would seep through the holes.

The church is a Grade II listed building, dating back to 1328 and is believed to be the oldest church in Basildon.

Henry Moore, community officer for the South East at the Churches Conservation Trust said the project has been very successful.

He said: “The costs for this project were around £50,000. There was repairs and replacements to parts of the roof of the church.

“We also had new pipe and guttering work outside of the church and some of the internal timber work has been repaired. There’s also been new bat boxes installed too.

“The works were needed and it’s been a good and big project for the church. We are really looking forward to having it back open properly.

“The was a lot of community fundraising for the work and the Friends of All Saints Church group does brilliant work.”

He said it’s helped to raise the profile of the church and attracted more attention for the site and building.

Jan Watt, 62, of Rectory Road, Pitsea, is treasurer of the Friends of All Saints Church and welcomed the work.

She said: “The church was shut down at the end of February and scaffolding was up on three sides of the building.

“The roof was not in a good state and due to this dust and dirt kept coming into the church and we had to work hard to keep it clean.

“Now it’s much cleaner in the church which is so much nicer. For the open day we will be having tea, coffee and cakes and the Basildon Heritage Group will hold a display of about the heritage of Vange and the surrounding area.”

An open day is being held on July 16 from 10am to mark the completion of the work.