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St. James Church Wobbled by 'Quake
Yampy hotfooted it down to the Parish Church of St. James The Great in Temple Street today, after reading Mat Danks'
report in the Dudley News that it had been seriously damaged by the earthquake. It seemed unlikely
- such a solid building, such a puny earthquake - but Mat is a Gornal lad so we gave him the benefit
of the doubt.
The Rev. Julian Mott kindly took me through the cordoned off security area and explained the problem. At
first I wasn't impressed:
"You can see the cracks at the top of the buttress" he said confidently.
"Er, what's a buttress?"
But then, following the Reverend's gaze I had a real shock. The top of each pillar appears to be
quite literally split away from the building (I hope it's that way round, and the building isn't falling
away from the pillars). I would have felt quite unsafe standing there, if the Rev. Mott hadn't been next
to me - I couldn't imagine a church falling down on top of it's own vicar, it would be a real P.R. disaster
for Him.
The Reverend told me that he had been away for a month and completely missed the earthquake. It was pure
luck that a routine five year inspection occurred so soon after the tremor, during which surveyors
discovered the problem. He said that the building techniques used for the buttresses of the early 19th Century
church would have relied on gravity more than mortar, and that the pillars would be constructed
separately such that the brickwork was not woven into the fabric of the building. The Reverend used the
less than ecclesiastical example of columns of Lego bricks to illustrate the matter for me.
Everything is now in the hands of the insurance company, and worshippers must keep well away from the tower
as a strong wind could have serious consequences. We hope that this will not stop faithful Gornal worshippers
from going along to hear the Rev. Mott's cracking sermons (ouch!).
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