Miracles Do Happen ...

For this week's Sunday Challenge which had the theme of green landscapes.

As I've not been able to get out much with the camera this week I took a dip into the archives and came up with this shot, which was taken at Beamish Open Air Museum earlier in the year.

The church you see here is, or at least was, St. Helen's the old Parish church of Eston, Middlesbrough, and it dates back to the 12th Century. However, by 1998, with the church having been disused for around 15 years and it having been partially demolished by local vandals it was in a very sorry state.

So, despite it being a Grade II listed building, permission was granted for its demolition and it appeared then that its fate was sealed ... that was until Beamish stepped in at the last moment to rescue the church for preservation.

They carefully deconstructed it stone by stone so that it could be rebuilt on the Museum site in County Durham next to Pockerley Old Hall, which can be seen behind the church high up on the hill.

Some of the bricks still have numbers written on them, which I can only assume have been left to illustrate how the Beamish team were able to reconstruct the church exactly as it had been when it stood in Eston, albeit now fully refurbished and fitted out with replacement fittings including some beautiful Georgian pews.

Please view on black for best effect.


www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-21108837/church-moved-and-rebuilt-at-beamish-museum

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3315277/Vandalised-medieval-church-rebuilt-brick-brick-40-miles-away.html