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Sadness as church cross falls from roof at Easter

Sarah-May Buccieriin Binbrook, near Market Rasen
BBC Philip Wallis, a man with short white hair, is standing next to a grey stone cross. Behind him are is a church, built of sand-coloured bricks. He is wearing glasses and a blue fleece.BBC
Philip Wallis, from the church, says the timing of the fall was "somewhat weird"

Church officials say they are hopeful of replacing a large stone cross that fell from the roof at Easter.

Philip Wallis, treasurer at the Church of St Mary and St Gabriel, in Binbrook, Lincolnshire, said the 5ft (1.5m) cross "tumbled" down on a windy evening and was "somewhat vaporised".

"At the time we celebrate the crucifixion and all that sort of stuff, our cross fell off the church," Wallis said. "It was somewhat weird."

The church was built in 1869 and Wallis said original plans could be used to create an identical replacement.

The remains of a stone cross which has fallen to the ground. The stone is covered in yellow moss. It is next to a grey memorial with an engraving denoting it dates from 1899.
The cross hit a memorial as it crashed to the ground

The cross damaged part of the roof and hit a granite memorial as it fell from the top of the nave.

Wallis said he was "very sad" when he saw the aftermath: "We try to do so much with the church and it was just an additional problem to deal with."

Talks with the building's insurer were under way and he was "optimistic" an "identical" cross could be created using "all the original drawings from when the church was built in 1869".

"We'll get another one made-up," he added. "So there is hope."

A section of the church which has been damaged by the cross. A horizontal metal piece of guttering has holes in it.
Part of the church's roof was damaged

The Victorian, grade II-listed church was designed by architect James Fowler, of Louth, and is regarded as his "gothic masterpiece", according to Wallis.

Members of the community were "very disappointed" by the loss of the cross, he added.

"They know how much effort we put into looking after the church.

"This is just a bit of a whammy that we weren't expecting."

Pink blossom trees bloom within the graveyard section of the church. Gravestones and crosses sit on the green grass while the grand church stands in the background.
The Anglican church was built in 1869

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