The Little Church on the Prairie
This is a story about a small, but interesting church in Baildon, West Yorkshire. Its design, history, and where it is now.
St James' Church, Baildon
https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8175/7977635129_1c7234da8d_z.jpg
St James' Church is a beautiful, wooden building. It was designed in the late 1800s.
It was originally erected in Great Warley, Essex, and commissioned by the Reverend H. R. Bailey, then rector of Great Warley. After he planned to retire to Baildon, he arranged for the building to be disassembled and transported there. Sadly, he died in 1900, before it could be moved up.
The church in its pre-restoration and move state.
http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS/Churches/WRYGeograph/BaildonStJames1Geograph_HB.jpg
However, he had made arrangements for it to be transported, and it made the journey by traction engine in 1904, where it was reassembled.
The new garden, created as part of the church's move.
https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4074/4850371420_0da75d7df8_z.jpg
In 2007, the church made another journey, this time a mere 30 metres along the road. This was to allow for some of the land it was on, to be sold to a property developer. The money was used to create a new meeting hall, and other improvements, including a beautiful garden.
http://www.overtonarchitects.co.uk/images/projects/churches/st-james-baildon/images/St-James-Baildon-5.jpg
The interior is also beautiful.