All Saints Parish Church wants people to make history and help rejuvenate the heart and soul of Kingston.

It is embarking on the most ambitious fundraising drive in its history, with plans to build a community centre, refurbish and renovate the church itself and give the grounds a going over.

The work will be done in stages, but the effort to raise the first £1.7m has already begun.

Floor tiles are now on sale, which will become a part of the church’s future and secure its 1,000-year history.

The church also wants to propel itself back into the soul of the community and co-exist with and complement the centre’s shopping heart.

The Rev Jonathan Wilkes said the changes would give everyone another reason to come to the church and discover its enviable part in English history.

He said: “There’s a sense that this hugely important town centre church is almost in a black hole. If it were me I would be screaming about the history, about the fact the first king of England was crowned here.

“Our belief is that this building belongs to the people of Kingston.

“When I came here there was a plan, and we revisited it. We aim to start work in early autumn.”

The first focus of the fundraising campaign is the church itself.

A total of £8.7m is needed to get the whole job done, but the first element will cost £3.7m.

Already £2m has been awarded by an assortment of donors, including the Lottery Heritage Fund, the Mayor of London’s Outer London Fund and Bentalls, and much of the remainder will be raised through the sale of tiles for the floor, which will make people’s donation a part of history.

Parts of the existing pulpit will be used and a new education centre will be opened at the north end of the church. The work inside the church will take a year and includes the new floor.

The money will also be used to move the Coronation Stone, on which King Athelstan was crowned in 924, from its Guildhall position back to the church next month.

The project will also see a closed doorway re-opened to connect the church to Kingston’s main retail area, while the choir vestry will be converted into a learning centre during the day.

Mr Wilkes said: “We will be able to tell the history of the church, Kingston and England. Now we have got the funding, we can develop it in a really exciting way.

“It’s the place where the first King of England was crowned. It’s a national story, and it needs to be told properly.

“To have the Coronation Stone in the heart of Kingston where millions of people have access to it will make a fantastic impact on Kingston and be a great tourism draw.”

The sale of tiles is soon to get under way.

One tile will cost £25 and there will be options to buy multiple tiles, or pay a little extra for a certificate, which can also be framed by Ask.

For more information visit whereenglandbegan.co.uk.

What the revamped church will look like: Much will be made of the new and improved church interior. Here is a sneak preview of what to expect...

- Existing internal porch remodelled to enable axial view through crossing and enhance appearance of openness to outside - Rebuild of north wall of existing electrician’s cupboard with new door

-Church boiler plant to be relocated in store

- Relocation of altar enables Holy Trinity chapel to be re-established as an area of private prayer

- Existing raised dais under crossing removed

-Floor levelled and front repositioned

- New north porch as per application

- Altar relocated to centre of nave to enable improved sight lines and involvement with congregation

- Existing internal glazed screen remodelled

- Wheelchair accessible and single WC provided in former store area

- Existing fibreglass opaque glazing to choir vestry/ education room replaced with new clear safety glass

- Choir vestry roof to be renewed to combat existing leaks and failure

- East end of church redefined as more coherent space, enabling more flexible use and also independent use from nave if required

- Proposed new iron screens that will enable the east end to be enclosed and better defined

- Existing concrete slab at east end replaced with new stone flooring

- Surviving 19th century pulpit fragments reconfigured to form new reduced pulpit to suit reordered layout