A Lincolnshire church dubbed England’s answer to the Leaning Tower of Pisa has issued a desperate plea for £100,000 to repair its uneven floor.
St James Church in Dry Doddington is famous for its wonky tower, which tilts at 5.1 degrees, compared to the 3.97 degrees of the Italian medieval structure.
But the parish is in desperate need of funding in order to renovate its off-tilt floor, as well as replaster the walls and upgrade its electricity.
The building dates back to the 12th century, and the famous leaning spire was built early in the 14th century. The grade-II listed structure has undergone numerous repairs over the decades, including major restoration to the stonework of the tower in 2015.
The church’s floor is “very uneven”, and the timber sections are badly rotted and infested with woodworm, according to the Lincolnshire Parish Council’s website.
It adds that the parish is currently unable to hold community events at the church, thanks to its precarious state.
Church warden Richard Loynes has set up a GoFundMe page to help raise the money to reopen the church doors.
On the page, he wrote: “We need to replace the very old floor in our 14th-century church, which has the famous tower that leans more than Pisa!”
Speaking to LincsOnline, he added: “As with hundreds of churches, we need to raise funds, but we’re as bad, if not worse than most, as we have a wonky floor.
“We are hoping to raise just over £100,000 to tackle the floor, replaster some of the walls, and to upgrade the electricity as we only have one plug.”
Future proposed restoration projects include repairs to the east window and other work to keep the building safe.
The village name Dry Doddington is a combination of Old English “dryge and Dodda+ing+ton” meaning “dry estate of a man called Dodda”. It is also named in the 1086 Domesday Book as Dodintune.
St James also contains a memorial to a 49 Squadron Avro Lancaster bomber that crashed near the village in November 1944.
NHS makes progress ‘in spite of strikes’ as waits fall for fourth month in a row
More young men are attending church regularly in surprising uptick, poll finds
A small but growing movement wants you to put down your phone. Click here to learn more
Members of City of London Corporation to ask Andrew to give up freedom of city
Keir Starmer accused of misleading MPs after Lord Mandelson ‘failed vetting’
Kemi Badenoch voices hope for Tory first minister in Scotland after May election
