London’s 700-year-old church tower lifted 46 feet to allow construction beneath

A medieval church tower was recently lifted 46 feet above ground to make way for a new office project.

Developers in London lifted a medieval church tower and suspended it several feet above ground in a historic feat.

According to Reuters, the unconventional step was taken to ensure uninterrupted construction of a new project beneath the tower. The new structure will integrate the historic church after its completion.

The landmark ancient stone tower was built in 1320 and it is the only remnant of a church largely destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666.

This isn’t the only instance that officials have taken landmark steps to protect the ancient structure.

In August, a church in Sweden was put on wheels and moved nearly five kilometers to save it from ground subsidence caused by expanding underground iron ore mines.

BBC reported that the ancient red timber structure, built in Kiruna in 1912, was hoisted on rolling platforms as it slowly moved towards its destination.

Kiruna Church is 35m (115ft) high, 40m wide and weighs 672 tonnes. It was once voted Sweden's most beautiful pre-1950 building.

The 113-year-old wooden structure completed the journey within two days.