Church tower collapse blamed on Victorian builders

The tower at St John the Baptist church, in High Toynton, collapsed in January 2020.

A church tower, dating back to 1872, collapsed because of "poor materials" used by the Victorian builders, officials have said.

St John the Baptist, in High Toynton near Horncastle, Lincolnshire has been closed since the structure fell down in January 2020.

The tower will not be rebuilt and, instead, a new glass door, entrance and pathway will be installed.

It is hoped the church will reopen in September.

The tower will not be rebuilt and is being replaced with a glass entrance and new pathway

Alison Bell, 71, the church secretary, said the events of four years ago are still fresh in peoples' minds.

She said: "It was a beautiful sunny day and there wasn't a breath of wind. I looked out of the window and there was no tower. It was quite surreal and pretty dramatic.

"One of the main things we had to do was establish why it fell down and it turned out to be poor materials used by the Victorian builders."

Alison Bell, the church secretary, said the tower collapse had been caused by poor Victorian building materials

The rubble from the tower will be used to form a pathway and railings leading to the new entrance.

Restoration work has also been carried out inside the building to create a new community space.

Ms Bell added: "It's been quite interesting because it had to be stripped out. But it's made a creative space that we can use for worship and gatherings."

The BBC had previously been told the tower had been "too big for the building" and prior to the collapse had been supported by metal braces and had underpinning work.

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