MORE than £1m is needed over the next five years if Abingdon's 32 almshouses - some built in the 15th century - are to be preserved.

Regarded as some of the finest jewels of the town's architectural heritage, the buildings that provide shelter for 30 elderly residents are beginning to show signs of deterioration.

Re-roofing is the biggest problem but there are also signs of fabric deterioration.

In some, kitchens and bathrooms need refurbishing and work is needed on damp-proofing and re-wiring.

More than £200,000 is to be spent in the spring on re-roofing and strengthening the roof of the seven almshouses and the oak-panelled main hall at Long Alley. This is the oldest of the properties, built in 1446, with later additions. The roof was last repaired 80 years ago.

All the almshouses - Long Alley, Wharf, Brick Alley and Mr Twitty's all close to St Helen's Church; and St John's in the Vineyard and Tomkins's almshouses in Ock Street - are owned and run by Christ's Hospital, the oldest charity in Oxfordshire and 39th oldest in the country.

It is still helping families and individuals in need 454 years after it was formed.

The Master of Christ's Hospital, Geoffrey Morris, said: "Abingdon's almshouses are listed buildings and are among the finest in the country, so it is vital that they are preserved.

"Time has taken its toll and we need to carry out a programme of refurbishment over the next five years costing about £1m."

The money will come from a mixture of sources - the charity's own pockets and grants. An application has been made to Heritage Lottery and to the Almshouse Association.

The charity gets its money from endowments and investments from properties and land it owns.

In addition to the almshouses, Christ's Hospital owns and maintains Albert Park, supports primary schools, provides financial help for disadvantaged children and works with the town's Monday Club for disabled people and with the Abingdon Bridge Drugs project.

Mr Morris said: "There are growing demands on our budget all the time and it is getting more difficult each year. We help plug the gaps that Government doesn't meet.

"Our income is sufficient to meet our normal expenditure but if we use our capital we reduce our income.

"We need help, not only to maintain the valuable service we provide, but also to help us maintain the beautiful old buildings.

"They are an intrinsic part of Abingdon's history."

The roots of Christ's Hospital stretch back to the medieval Guild of the Holy Cross, a mutual self-help society helping its members who fell on hard times, and that underlying ethos still prevails today.

By 1445, the charity was wealthy enough to build the Long Alley almshouses and the old Market Cross that was destroyed during the Civil War.

The Guild was surpressed in 1547 after the dissolution of the Abbey by Henry VIII and had its endowments confiscated.

It was a bleak outlook for the charity, but in 1553 Sir John Mason helped create a charitable trust that was approved by royal charter.

Sir John, who was a diplomat and spy for the king, was a wealthy man who left money to Christ's Hospital.