Beachamwell: 11th Century round tower church re-emerging year on since blaze

The fire-ravaged medieval church had been closed for two years for a restoration project

A thousand-year-old church is on its way to being rebuilt a year after it was left in ruins by a blaze.

St Mary's in Beachamwell, near Swaffham, Norfolk, was gutted when a spark from welding repairs landed on its thatched roof.

The church had been just days away from re-opening after closing for two years after thieves stole lead from its roof.

The Ven Richard Harlow said the £3.5m restoration project now had the "beginnings" of a shell.

The historic church tower and weather vane have been restored

The Archdeacon of Huntingdon and Wisbech said work to make the building safe was now complete.

He said: "The tower has been repaired, a new roof has been put on it and it looks like how it used to look.

"The next phase is getting a roof back on - the thatched roof is one of the particularly beautiful and unusual features of the church."

The church's historic round tower is believed to be one of the oldest in Norfolk and was covered in scaffolding for part of last year

The 11th Century building, mentioned in the Domesday Book, had been fully insured by the church's fundraising group.

Historic England placed the Grade I-listed St Mary's on its at risk register following the fire and has been providing project advice.

While the exterior of the medieval church was being replaced like-for-like, discussions have been under way about improving facilities.

"The opportunity that a tragedy like this affords is for some consideration of whether you can add some bits in to the interior that not only restore it, but help it to be more useful going forwards," said Archdeacon Harlow.

The tower's lead roof melted at the height of the blaze

Peter Berendt, who became a church warden following the blaze, said some residents were left shocked by the ordeal.

"People were stunned - it took about three days for the smouldering to stop, but over three weeks for the smell to go of the burnt wood," he said.

"Some people I know were in tears."

The church was covered in blackened and charred debris until its removal in May

The former military officer said he was particularly upset that the war memorials, honouring about 20 people from the parish, were destroyed but these would be replaced.

Mr Berendt said some people had moved to Beachamwell because of its quintessential village church.

He also said although St Mary's "may be a tiny church, it has a lot of interesting stories to tell".

The fire-ravaged bell frame had to be carefully removed by professional abseilers

These included having been owned by the same family who had the Sandringham estate and it being known to The Beatles, regular village visitors due to family ties there.

King Charles had also visited the church and admired some ancient mason's graffiti, lost in the fire.

The blaze's searing heat caused the church bells to crack and they had to be removed from the charred bell frame

The fire revealed the late 11th Century tower - one of the oldest round towers in Norfolk - was slowly crumbling away, but it also uncovered beautiful knapped flint mosaics around the top.

Contractors spent about three months painstakingly numbering all the stones before removing, cleaning and replacing them.

The bell frame and bells had to be removed in a precise operation

• Villagers get first look inside fire-hit church

• Community in grief over fire-damaged church

• Blaze rips through 11th Century thatched church

Mr Berendt said the restoration of the church tower had been a pivotal moment for the village, with most of its 300 residents backing the rebuild.

He said he hoped services could be held inside by the middle of next year, once the building was watertight.

Villagers were invited to walk around the outside of the church in the days following the blaze

"Everyone was so pleased that by Christmas time the tower was back and the weather vane was back on it," he said.

"That's the landmark you can see," he added.

"I am hoping it will be a case of build the church and the people will come."

The blaze smouldered for three days