A church congregation has invited people to sponsor one of its organs’ 3,000 pipes to prevent it from becoming “unplayable” in the future.

The Abbey Church in Abbey Gardens, Waltham Abbey has launched a “Sponsor a Pipe Appeal” to help raise the £50,000 required to save its 1953 J.W. Walker pipe organ.

The Waltham Abbey Heritage Organ Appeal has been working for seven years to raise £200,000 towards “urgently needed” refurbishment works to continue its playing life.

The pipes range from 16ft ranks at £250, to ranks less than 2ft for £5 and can be dedicated to loved ones, with sponsors receiving a commemorative certificate.

An Abbey Church spokesman said: “The organ is used at a variety of services, from weekly Sunday worship to weddings and funerals, Christmas and Easter worship and community services such as the Civic Service and Remembrance Service – it will have had an impact on many people in the town and beyond.

“It is a complex machine that has worn out over its sixty-year lifespan and will soon be unplayable – only the skill of the Abbey’s organists enables it to continue to function so convincingly."

You can sponsor by cheque or via the Abbey Church website here.