News by email Donate

Suggestions

Top Stories

Most Read

Popular Videos

World News

WATCH: Storm Eunice blows spire off Somerset church

by Kelly Valencia
St Thomas Wells Spire Storm Eunice.PNG - Banner image
Screenshot Twitter video Steve Day

Heavy winds have brought the spire of St Thomas' Church in Wells, Somerset to the ground.

Videos posted on social media show the moment the spire wobbled and then fell from the Victorian church built in 1857.

Speaking to Sky News, St Thomas’ vicar, Rev Claire Towns said the community is “shocked” to see the damage to the spire but equally “thankful that nobody was hurt or even worse killed".

Winds of up to 122mph were recorded at the Needles on the Isle of Wight on Friday leaving more than 90,000 people without power.

At least four people have been confirmed dead as a result of fallen trees, flying debris and structural damage.

Rev Claire continued: "I was more concerned about the trees that surround the vicarage garden than I was about the church because I thought to myself well it's been here since Victorian times, it must have seen some weather since then.

"And then literally a couple of minutes later I took a call from the police asking if I would come and look at the spire and 'should it look like that ' and I went 'certainly not'.

"Then within 10 minutes of that conversation with the police, I was upstairs at the time looking out the window and I saw the top of the spire and the weather vane come crashing down. It all happened so quickly, all in the space of 20 minutes or so."

In a Tweet, Emma Brown, church buildings adviser for the Diocese Bath & Wells confirmed Strachey Conservation have collected the fallen masonry and are assessing the damage.

It’s unknown how much it will cost to repair.

A Monthly Gift Of $11 Makes A World Of Difference

In a world of fake news there’s never been a greater need for quality Christian journalism. Premier’s mission is to provide the Church with the most up to date and relevant news, told from a Christian perspective. But we can’t do it without you.

Unlike many websites we haven't put up a paywall — we want to keep our journalism free at the point of need and as open as we can. Premier’s news output takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. No one in the USA is sharing news like we are across radio, magazines and online so please help us to continue that today.

For a monthly gift of $11 or more we’d also be able to send you a free copy of the brand new Premier Bible, a wonderful Anglicised version of the NLT packed with exclusive bonus content, reading plan and resources to help you get the most out of scripture.

Your monthly support will make a world of difference. Thank you.

Support Us
Continue the conversation on our Facebook page

Related Articles

Sign up to our newsletter to stay informed with news from a Christian perspective.

News by email

Connect

Donate

Donate