St Hilda's Church
The History:
Founded in 1931, St Hilda's Church (previously known as St Mary's RC Church) cost £6000 to build. In 1930, before being founded at the site where it sits today, the church was purchased by the Mission of St Hilda's (CofE). This church is a rare case of a complete structure being dismantled, moved location and re-built with the original materials, although undergoing some structural modifications. The "Iron Church" was made out of external metal sheets and almost entirely wood inside. The name was adapted from Cannon Raines as he was born in Whitby where his grandfather was the vicar of St Hilda's Church on the Hill. The new location also suited the continuation of the name. By 1975, the church was separated into two sections. One section was the church containing the pews and stained-glass window at the rear of the property and the other section was used as a meeting place and cared for by the minister of Milnrow Parish Church.
During 1998, the 60+ year old structure was closed due to structural problems and issues found in an inspection at the time.
The Explore:
During our mini two-day mission to check churches round the area, we stopped at St Hilda's on day one. The unique church was a nice spot to tick off and capture. The materials used to build the church have made its life of abandonment much worse. The weather conditions have taken their toll on the property and inside reveals complete natural decay causing the building to shift from the lack of structural competence. The floors, albeit they're not that high, are treacherous and gaps in the walls and roof have allowed for plant growth to ensue. We had an easy time accessing the property and were able to not disturb the neighbours, who were very close-by.
Side note - Some shots have marks or wipes across the lens meaning the light coming into the property has been smeared almost. Artistic effect?
View down the side of the property
Inside you can see how much of the wall is missing on the field side.
The stained glass offered a yellow and blue tint from the light pouring in from the rear of the church, which complemented the woodwork well.
Shot from the back of the church hall. Half-way down you can see the wall which separated the church and the meeting room.
The wall used to section the building off was extremely crooked.
The meeting room had ferns growing in a pit where the floor had collapsed.
Someone had been staging a shot...
Finally the entrance hall with a mini array of items and the old noticeboard still hanging.
We produced a video combining this site and Cave Addullam Particular Baptist Church where we cover the comparison between renovation and pure abandonment; feel free to watch below:
Thanks for reading!
The History:
Founded in 1931, St Hilda's Church (previously known as St Mary's RC Church) cost £6000 to build. In 1930, before being founded at the site where it sits today, the church was purchased by the Mission of St Hilda's (CofE). This church is a rare case of a complete structure being dismantled, moved location and re-built with the original materials, although undergoing some structural modifications. The "Iron Church" was made out of external metal sheets and almost entirely wood inside. The name was adapted from Cannon Raines as he was born in Whitby where his grandfather was the vicar of St Hilda's Church on the Hill. The new location also suited the continuation of the name. By 1975, the church was separated into two sections. One section was the church containing the pews and stained-glass window at the rear of the property and the other section was used as a meeting place and cared for by the minister of Milnrow Parish Church.
During 1998, the 60+ year old structure was closed due to structural problems and issues found in an inspection at the time.
The Explore:
During our mini two-day mission to check churches round the area, we stopped at St Hilda's on day one. The unique church was a nice spot to tick off and capture. The materials used to build the church have made its life of abandonment much worse. The weather conditions have taken their toll on the property and inside reveals complete natural decay causing the building to shift from the lack of structural competence. The floors, albeit they're not that high, are treacherous and gaps in the walls and roof have allowed for plant growth to ensue. We had an easy time accessing the property and were able to not disturb the neighbours, who were very close-by.
Side note - Some shots have marks or wipes across the lens meaning the light coming into the property has been smeared almost. Artistic effect?
View down the side of the property
Inside you can see how much of the wall is missing on the field side.
The stained glass offered a yellow and blue tint from the light pouring in from the rear of the church, which complemented the woodwork well.
Shot from the back of the church hall. Half-way down you can see the wall which separated the church and the meeting room.
The wall used to section the building off was extremely crooked.
The meeting room had ferns growing in a pit where the floor had collapsed.
Someone had been staging a shot...
Finally the entrance hall with a mini array of items and the old noticeboard still hanging.
We produced a video combining this site and Cave Addullam Particular Baptist Church where we cover the comparison between renovation and pure abandonment; feel free to watch below:
Thanks for reading!
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