As well as structural damage to the tower, the church suffers dry rot while
its windows are warping and the stone and ironwork surrounding them are
crumbling and rotting away.

Concerts, open days and lectures will take place next spring to help find more
funds for the church, which now has a weekly congregation of about 50
worshippers, while a reception was held at the House of Lords earlier this
week to win over influential politicians.

Fr Marcus Holden, the parish priest for Ramsgate and chairman of the Friends
of St Augustine, said: “We cannot overestimate the importance of this
church.

“If Pugin is one the greatest ecclesiastical architects of modern English
history, and St Augustine’s is his personal ideal church, then this site is
of vast importance.

“It is significant at so many levels: spiritually it’s the monument of St
Augustine’s landing, historically it’s a centre piece of the 19th century
Catholic revival, architecturally it’s Pugin’s masterpiece and artistically
it’s full of his best.

“I’m delighted that St Augustine’s is now being recognised for what it is and
preserved for future generations.

“It has been extremely encouraging to see how people both locally and
nationally, from different backgrounds and with a variety of expertise, have
come together in this project.

“We have turned a corner in the path of rescuing the church but there is a
long way to go and much help is needed.”