The tiny corrugated iron chapel began life as a £350 flat-pack in kit form, taking only weeks to build as a temporary place of worship for the swelling population of a Victorian village.
More than 120 years later as other, more sturdy, churches have long since closed their doors, the “tin tabernacle” at Saxlingham Nethergate, Norfolk, is bursting at the seams… and has just appointed its first pastor.
Former policeman Ian Masson believes his congregation at the Evangelical Chapel has been boosted by the credit crunch.
‘With the fall in house prices and the recession, a lot of people have become disillusioned with material gain and they are increasingly turning back to the church and God,’ said the 53-year-old known as “Pastor Ian” to his flock.
Until fairly recently the timber-framed, metal-clad chapel was on the verge of being demolished, after 120 years of East Coast winds had taken their toll. But as the worshippers flocked back, so did the money for refurbishment, and a £90,000 makeover left the building with an extension to house an inside lavatory, kitchen and meeting room.
Air-conditioning, however was not on the list. ‘It’s like an ice box in winter until the heating fires up, and like sitting in a Hovis tin in the Summer,’ said Mr Masson, with the deafening noise of rain thundering in the background on the roof.
At one time, there were thousands of the corrugated iron churches around Britain, with manufacturers sending them out in kit form to the provinces and colonies alike.
Licence Tin Tabernacle photographs here.
