St James' church, Leaning Tower - Dry Doddington, Lincolnshire
Posted by: SMacB
N 53° 00.605 W 000° 44.096
30U E 651963 N 5875791
Similar to the famous tower at Pisa, this tower at St James' church has a pronounced lean. In fact, leaning to a greater degree than its better known counterpart.
Waymark Code: WMNJB0
Location: East Midlands, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 03/22/2015
Views: 6
The tower of St James leans at an angle of 4.9 to 5.1 degrees from vertical towards the west. There are several theories; one of which is that during construction in the 14th century the soil that was supposed to go underneath was used elsewhere. Another theory is that during the plague of the mid 14th century a mass grave was sited at the west end of the church, and that caused the tower to lean. The most likely explanation, however, is that the movement of the clay soil underneath, and the poor foundations (medieval churches notoriously had inadequate foundations) have caused the tower to settle unevenly, leading to the lean we see today.
Looking around inside the church it becomes apparent that it is not just the tower that has succumbed to the subsidence. The south wall of the chancel does not appear to be vertical, but leans outward. The columns of the nave look uneven (although that may be an optical illusion).
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