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Leaning St James Church Launches £100,000 Appeal To Fix Unsafe Floor

An urgent £100,000 appeal aims to replace the sinking floor to keep worshippers safe.

Overview

  • St James' Church in Dry Doddington is seeking just over £100,000 to replace the failing wooden floor, replaster damaged walls, and upgrade its single plug electrical system.
  • Worship continues with safety warnings because stone slabs have shifted and the floor has sunk and cracked.
  • The church warden has launched a GoFundMe, and villagers have run fairs to raise money after £100,000 of work in 2015 kept the tower standing.
  • The 14th-century tower leans 5.1 degrees, more than Pisa, and church leaders say they will not try to straighten it.
  • Locals attribute the tilt to clay ground and a lack of deep foundations, and underpinning in 1918 halted further movement.