London ? Something is rotten in the city of Stratford-upon-Avon.

It’s the beam that supports the roof over the grave of William Shakespeare, and the church where he lies is urgently seeking $80,000 for repairs.

The Rev. Martin Gorick, vicar of Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon, said the problem was discovered three weeks ago by workmen on the roof of the church, who were alarmed to find bits of the beam falling off.

The beam supports the roof of the chancel, the part of the church where the altar stands and where Shakespeare is buried.

The church has raised nearly $1.6 million in the past seven years for restoration work on the building, which is about 800 years old.

Shakespeare was baptized at Holy Trinity on April 26, 1564, and the church’s burial register lists him as “Gulielimus, filius Johannes Shakspeare,” (William, son of John Shakespeare.)

After a career writing and staging his plays in London, he retired to Stratford in 1611, and was buried on April 25, 1616. His wife, Anne Hathaway, also lies there.