The bells of St Andrews Farnham will ring out once again as a bid to save its historic tower has been awarded £520,000 in lottery funding.

The National Lottery Heritage Fund has answered the prayers of churchgoers by donating the hefty sum through its Routes and Ringers project.

The handout should open the door to later funding with the money being used to repair and strengthen the tower, currently closed and deemed unsafe.

Further plans include refurbishing and replacing its long-silent bells, renovating its historic windows, improving access and toilets and training volunteers.

The vision is to make St Andrew’s a centre of excellence for bell-ringing and a home for walking and pilgrimage heritage that showcases the traditional heritage skills that were central to Farnham’s past.

The funding will allow St Andrew’s Parochial Church Council (PCC) to develop its proposals before applying for a full £3.2million grant, with the “overjoyed” Revd. H. David Uffindell saying the money will make a “huge difference”.

“Many people in the team have worked on this project and getting it over the line has been really exciting for all of us,” said the rector.

“We can see the difference it'll make to the Church family, to the Church community, to the wider community here in Farnham and even beyond.”

"It puts the church in the centre of the town and that's important to us,” said PCC member Lynn Attwood, while colleague Matthew Ellliott is looking forward to introducing the “magnificent building” to a new and wider audience.

He said: “It is exciting that the bells, which have been ringing in this place for over 700 years and have been silent for the last four or five, will be starting again.”

Additional reporting by Marcus McQuilton, a longer version of this article is on www.farnhamherald.com