3-003-843 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Removal of a chapel at Melton, near Woodbridge, Suffolk, 1861. Engraving from a photograph by Mr. Cobb. '...the Primitive Methodist Chapel was removed, in a mass, 15ft. from its original foundation. The removal was rendered necessary by the verdict of a jury, who...pronounced it a nuisance to a gentleman's house standing on adjoining ground...The base course around the chapel was entirely cut away, and beams...were inserted longitudinally...whilst support was further gained by transverse beams placed at intervals. The former beams...were laid to a rise of 1 in 180, so that the building had not only to be moved in a horizontal direction, but uphill also. The walls were firmly bolted together...The removal was effected by the application of two screw-jacks to one side of the building (pushing it forward) and three pairs of double screws to the other side (pulling it), the beams on which the building travelled being well greased to prevent friction...In three hours after commencing, the chapel was safely lodged on its new foundations, and presenting not even a scratch or the appearance of a crack; and a good deal of credit is due to Messrs. Collins, millwrights, for the easy and successful apparatus by which the building was removed'. From "Illustrated London News", 1861.