A GRANT of more than £140,000 has been awarded to fund the restoration of Harwich’s historic Treadwheel Crane.

Historic England has awarded the cash to Tendring Council as part of the Culture Recovery Fund.

Believed to have been built in 1745 – possibly reusing timbers from a previous 1667 crane – the Treadwheel Crane is a Grade II listed scheduled ancient monument.

The man-operated crane was used for loading and unloading ships and is thought to be the only surviving British example of a two-wheel man-operated crane in the medieval tradition.

The council, which owns the crane, will fund the remaining 25 per cent of the repair cost of almost £47,000.

Carlo Guglielmi, Tendring Council’s deputy leader and councillor responsible for finance, said it was important to protect the area’s heritage.

“Wherever it is located we take our responsibilities towards heritage buildings seriously, but in a place with such a rich history as Harwich it is perhaps even more crucial,” he said.

“This is a popular part of the Harwich Society’s guided tours of the town, often opened up for school visits, and it is vital we protect it for generations to come.”

The 17ft crane was originally located around a quarter of a mile north of its current location as part of the original Harwich docks where it was alongside a slipway most famous for launching the 24-gun HMS Seahorse – on which the future Admiral Nelson served as a midshipman.

The crane was moved in 1932 to St Helen’s Green and is currently on Historic England’s Heritage at Risk list.

Works required include repairing a ground slab which has failed, causing subsidence, as well as restoration to the roof, timber frame, and the crane itself.

Under the planned works an experimental but traditional technique using tar and sail cloth, rather than paint and other materials, will be used to weatherproof the front part of the roof, which is one of the reasons Historic England supported the grant bid.

A planning application for listed building consent was approved at a meeting on Tuesday.

Works are expected to start soon and could be completed by the spring of next year.

A total of £35million of funding has been handed to 142 historic locations by Historic England.