The man who wrote Jesus Christ Superstar is supporting an plan to keep churches in Oxfordshire open longer to the public.

Andrew Lloyd-Webber, composer of a string of West End musicals including Cats and Phantom of the Opera, has a long-standing love of church architecture.

The Open Churches Trust has been set up with the help of the Really Useful Group - the business arm of Lord Lloyd-Webber's empire - to provide money for stewards and security equipment to protect church property while they are open to the public.

Oxfordshire churches to benefit include St Mary the Virgin in Kidlington, now opening between 2.30 and 5.30pm on Wednesdays and Sundays; St Giles in Oxford, open between noon and 2pm on weekdays; St Helen in Abingdon, open Monday to Saturday between 10am and 4pm; and St Mary the Virgin in Chalgrove, open between 10am and 3pm on Wednesdays and from 2-4pm on Saturdays.

All the churches are Grade I listed buildings selected by the trust for their architectural beauty with the approval of Lord Lloyd-Webber.

The composer, 53, a graduate of Magdalen College, developed a love of church architecture as a child when he was being brought up in a small flat in Chelsea, West London.

The Rev Anthony Ellis, rector at St Mary the Virgin, in Kidlington, said it was difficult to keep churches open because of thefts. He said: "It is important they are kept open because, quite apart from the worshippers, people like churches for their heritage, tradition and beauty."