Church moves in mysterious ways

St James's is known locally as the White Church

A "portable" church in West Yorkshire is on the move - for the second time in its history.

St James's Church in Baildon is a wooden tongue-and-groove structure which was transported 200 miles from Essex on a traction engine in 1904.

Now the Grade II listed building is moving a mere 23 metres as part of a £750,000 refurbishment project.

The move will allow a new meeting room to be built and a biblical-themed garden created around it.

The garden will contain many plants and trees mentioned in the bible such as palm, fig, olive and a Cedar of Lebanon. There will be benches nearby and plaques depicting the relevant biblical verses.

There will also be a wildflower meadow and a water feature representing the Jordan Valley - with different pools symbolising the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea.

Unusual style

The work is expected to take about nine months and will begin on Monday when the church will be dismantled before it is rebuilt.

In the meantime, the 30-strong congregation is worshipping in the boardroom of a local company.

Vicar of Baildon, the Rev Canon John Nowell, said: "We're very excited about this.

"The newly enhanced building will be a great service to the community; it will be a brighter, more comfortable place to worship and the biblical garden will be a lovely place for people to sit and ponder.

"It's certainly an unusual architectural style for this part of the world - some call it the little church on the prairie."

The work is being funded by the sale of some of the land to a property developer which plans to build 10 houses on the site.

The church was originally built in Great Warley, Essex in 1892. The Rector, the Rev H R Bailey, arranged for it to be moved to Baildon where he intended to retire.

He died in 1900 before his retirement, but according to his wishes the church was still erected in Baildon in 1904.