The Leaning Tower of Wybunbury
Believe it or not, the village of Wybunbury and the Italian town of Pisa have something in common
Wybunbury's 29.3 m tower is all that remains of a late fifteenth century church demolished in 1833. (Later churches, replacing the fifteenth century one, were also demolished in 1892 and 1977). The church was at some time dedicated to the Mercian Bishop of St. Chad who established his See at Lichfield in 669.
Known as the 'Hanging Steeple of Wybunbury' because of its tendency to lean, the Tower has undergone two remarkable feats of engineering to straighten it.The tower was stabilised using under excavation by James Trubshaw in 1832 and this is the earliest known application of the technique, which was also used more notably to stabilise the Leaning Tower of Pisa!So it could be claimed that if it wasn't for Wybunbury one of the world's most famous monuments may have inclined its way to a decline.
A new St Chad's Church for Wybunbury was soon built on a new site further down Main Road. The Tower remained intact on the churchyard grounds, in splendid isolation as a landmark for South Cheshire. The Tower now belongs to the people of Wybunbury, who formed a Trust to save it and its six bells in 1983.