Repair work which could cost "tens of thousands of pounds" is on the cards for Layer Marney Tower.

Plans have been submitted to Colchester Council to replace parts of the Tudor gatehouse roof which are currently made up of old slate.

A flatter lead roof will be used instead, to bring the look of the tower back to how it used to be, and stop leaking.

Owner Nicholas Charrington said already two of the towers have been re-roofed, but the plans also involve converting another two back to lead roofing.

The application also includes removing some large water tanks which hold around 2,000 gallons of water, as they are no longer needed and are putting extra pressure on the structure of the building.

Once these have been removed, one of the old tower floors will be put back in.

Mr Charrington explained: "The idea is when you come in the house one side will be left very much open where the floor has fallen out. The other side will be put back to get it closer to how it used to be and provide more space for displays and information."

He added that the work will cost "quite a few tens of thousands of pounds" and said things like wedding receptions and ceremonies would help to pay the cost.

So long as the plans are given the go ahead, work is likely to start in October when the house shuts to the public, and is hoped to be finished by next April.

This will coincide with the completion of a model by local artist, Paul Wells, who has taken on the challenge of constructing a model of what the tower may have looked like had it been completed.

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