Half a church & a fisherman

tb2

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Normanton Church, its ground floor buried in concrete and stone, is an odd sight on the edge of Rutland Water. This was the solution that the 1970s came up with when the land was flooded to create the reservoir.

Tony

For more info: http://photoreflect.blogspot.com/2008/06/undignified-end.html

Normanton-Church-Rutland-Water.jpg
 
Heyyy, I've been there! Wonderful shot, and I really like how you included the fisherman in the foreground. Nice reflection, too, of the church tower, and as is often the case in that part of the world, beautiful clouds
 
Such a cool shot. The building there is weird to begin with and the fisherman just adds to it, I really like it
 
Thanks for the comments everyone. I went to photograph this building, and was pleased to find the fisherman to give me some foreground interest. I've never felt that this particular answer to the church's preservation did it any favours - it took away all its dignity.

Regards, Tony
 
The alternative was to bulldoze it like the rest of the village, which would have taken away everything.
As it is it serves as a reminder that a community was submerged to make the pond - so the fact that the church looks like it is sinking is apt.

(I remember them building the Pond so I remember how it was like before they filled it with fish...)
 
Hertz, I don't think it was a choice between demolition and this particular solution. A number of English churches have been disassembled and reassembled elsewhere. That would have been a better answer, but required the will to find the money to do it. Another solution (again used elsewhere) was to rescue the architecturally significant parts, principally Cockerell's tower and the colonnade, and re-site them on the shore as an "eyecatcher" memorial.

Regards, Tony
 
It looks like the resevoir is full of water! If you dont need it can you send it to Australia drought country and then you can have your church back. They should have considered the church! We have towns under water by a hydro scheme. The drought is so bad the spires of the churches have been exposed and the ruins of the town can be seen along the foreshore.
 
I don't think it was a choice between demolition and this particular solution. A number of English churches have been disassembled and reassembled elsewhere. That would have been a better answer, but required the will to find the money to do it.

It was purely a financial thing.
The reservoir was built around '72 and the water company had not been privatised. The intention was to just bulldoze it but certain local interests put pressure on the Government to preserve it and a cheap compromise was put up - the concrete caisson.
The locals didn't really care - and they certainly didn't want the reservoir.
I grew up around Rutland, I know people who worked on the building of the reservoir and I know a lot about the deals done in dark corners.
Rutland only got County status because three people wanted to make money from it ;)
 

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