Blown away

MANY of your readers will have been fascinated by the Youtube clip showing, in the recent windy weather, the top of the spire of St Thomas’s church in Wells swaying backwards and forwards, then collapsing. The destruction of church spires is not a rare occurrence, at least here in Somerset. The Church of the Holy Ghost, Crowcombe (near Taunton), has a fine 14th-century tower that was topped by an 80ft spire until struck by a thunderbolt in 1725, with the 6ft tip landing upright at the back of the churchyard, where it remains erect to this day. On November 26, 1703, there was a particularly violent storm, during which many Somerset churches were damaged, including that of Porlock (above), where visitors today will see the spire is truncated, with the top absent. Legend has it that the top of that spire flew away and landed on the church at Culbone, where it remains.

William Newsom, Somerset

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