A prominent Victorian building next to the church where JRR Tolkien was married is to undergo a major restoration.

The West Street school house, now used as a parish hall in Warwick, has been given a £50,000 Heritage Lottery grant.

It is next to the Catholic Church of Saint Mary Immaculate where Tolkien married Edith Bratt in 1916.

Once work is complete, volunteers will hold exhibitions at the hall, including features on Tolkien, reminiscences of past pupils and teachers at the school and war memories and Catholic Martyrs of Warwick.

Helen Wild, fund-raiser of the parish hall steering committee, which is known locally as the social centre, said they were delighted by the HLF award.

"It's a very prominent building in Warwick with a varied and interesting history and one which local people believe is significant within the community," she said.

"The building used to be a church school which first opened more than 100 years ago and pupils were taught there right up into 1972. Many local people have very strong memories of their days there before it became a parish hall.

"We have already started collecting and researching the history of the building and people have recorded their memories which will be used as part of the exhibition."

When the school first opened it had two classrooms with room for 100 children. Pupils could attend from the age of five until the school leaving age of 14. In 1959 St Mary's became a primary school only.

Restoration on the building includes work to the roof, windows and boundary walls as well as improvements to the kitchen and other facilities. It sits in a conservation area close to the church which was built in 1860 and designed by the architect Edward Welby Pugin, son of Augustus Welby Pugin who was the co-architect for the House of Commons.

"Local volunteers have been heavily involved in the project to make sure the building remains open and continues to be a valuable asset and well-used by the community. The renovation work will also improve access and open up the building to be used by more groups," Ms Wild added.

A booklet, website and an audio guide about the building and its history will also be produced.

Anne Jenkins, regional director of the HLF West Midlands, said: "We are delighted the grant will enable the building to be made more accessible to the wider community and also to see the sharing and protection of its heritage in terms of memories as well as bricks and mortar."