1959: Faith Moves Mountains, but a CONGREGATION MOVES a CHURCH | Weird and Wonderful | BBC Archive

What do you do when you can't afford to build a new church? Why, move a redundant one from 17 miles away of course!
BBC News was on hand in April 1959 for the opening of the new St Mark's church in Biggin Hill, moved brick by brick from the bombed out All Saints in Peckham over the course of three years by Rev Vivian Symons and his conscientious congregation.
Clip taken from BBC News, originally broadcast on BBC Television, Monday 27 April 1959.
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[@jameswaters5133]

Vivian Symons sounds like one of those amazing people who came out of WWII and achieved great things, seemingly casually, but with a phenomenal amount of hard work. Cool looking church too, it's aged well.

[@BrassLock]

*"Rumour has it"* that the Good Priest trained all his parishioners to build houses in the poor neighbourhoods throughout the country (and overseas) so that everyone had a decent house to live in, at a fraction of the Builder's Fees currently charged elsewhere. By his single handed approach to spread the gospel brick-by-brick, this priest has overcome the housing problem that governments world wide cannot cope with, despite all the technology and billions of $£€ available to be spent on submarines, tanks, aircraft rockets and drones instead. 😮 ● Dunno where the rumour started, but it seems like a very feasible outcome of his Jolly Good Idea 💡

[@jasonayres]

17 miles! That was very moving. I'm all for "Make do and mend," or "Reduce, reuse, recycle," but did he say that they referred to a book from 1420? Ecumenically economical, or maybe economically ecumenical. 🤔

[@robinvanags912]

Affordably ecclesiastical.

[@Chris-B.]

How many Googled the church to see how it looks today 😁

[@oliverlee-os6tr]

vivian symons actually remained as vicar here until he retired in 1966, unlike many post modern churches (which where usually ugly brick boxes with concreate window frames) this seems to have been built on very traditional principles. it actually reminds of the churches Giles Gilbert Scott used to built in the 1930s and seeing that his son Richard was architect that's not really surprising, all in all it's a lovely church and hats off to vivian for getting it built!.

[@brianartillery]

Faith can move mountains. Aye, she's a big girl... 😆😆😆

[@giulioluzzardi7632]

Looks a bit like St Joan-of-Arc in Hughbury..sans Campanile( bell tower).

[@stephfoxwell4620]

Now they are offering reparations for the slave trade.