St Werburgh's Church, Bristol

St Werburgh’s Church in Bristol started as a medieval parish church on Corn Street in the old city. Its tower dates from the late 14th century and was carefully moved stone by stone when the church was rebuilt in 1879. The building was dismantled because the junction of Corn Street and Small Street blocked plans to widen roads and extend the tramway. The stones were numbered and carried about two miles to Mina Road in the Baptist Mills area. One hundred coffins and forty chests of human remains were found during the move and later reburied at Greenbank Cemetery. The church once held high-backed pews, oak panelling and a gilt organ installed in 1842. Its congregation had fallen to eighteen people by 1871, and the parish could no longer afford repairs. After the move, the new church was consecrated in 1879 to serve a growing working-class population. By 1955 the stonework was decaying because of nearby factory fumes, and the parish launched a four-thousand-pound appeal for repairs. The final service took place in 1988, after which the church was deconsecrated and left empty. Today the former church houses one of the United Kingdom’s first indoor climbing centres. The Perpendicular Gothic tower and other original stones remain part of the structure. Climbers find bouldering walls, roped climbs and training areas inside the old nave and aisles. The Mina Road site sits in a quiet residential neighbourhood, close to the historic Baptist Mills area. Visitors can still see the numbered stones and the reused tower that survived the move.