Update: This story is an April Fool’s Day story – apologies if you were fooled! There are no plans for a construction project at the church.
Published: April 1, 2014
Bid to straighten Burnham church’s leaning tower is launched
A major construction project is set to begin later this year to straighten the leaning tower of Burnham-On-Sea’s St Andrew’s Church.
A team of architects has been monitoring the angle of the historic tower for several years and has recommended in a report published today that work be undertaken to straighten it.
The seafront church will be celebrating its 700th anniversary next year and it’s hoped that the work can be completed in time for the celebrations.
“There are no immediate safety concerns but the group has suggested that the work goes ahead. The architects are experts in their field from Italy who have previously been involved with trying to straighten the famous Tower of Pisa,” the church’s Reverend Graham Witts told Burnahm-On-Sea.com.
The church tower, 78ft high, gets a lot of attention from tourists on the seafront. If a plumb line is dropped from the north side of the tower it would fall 3 feet away from the building. This major leaning is believed to be caused by the poor foundations.
A fundraising campaign is scheduled to be launched to help finance the work.
