ST PETER’S RC Church, Stalybridge, has never witnessed anything like it in its history.
A huge scaffold tower filled the entirety of the inside of the place of worship.
It came about after a piece of masonry fell from the roof causing safety fears.
The huge scaffold structure was erected so workmen could inspect the whole of the roof to ensure there was no risk for parishioners.
Luckily, they found no other issues after conducting a thorough examination of the inside of the church.
But while the scaffolding was in place – possibly a once on a generation occurrence – church officials decided to put it to good use.
The scaffolding enabled the interior of the church to be redecorated and also for some work to be done on the electrics.
St Peter’s, which opened in 1839, was forced to close its doors for safety reasons in December after a piece of masonry from the ceiling crashed to the floor.
As a result, services were transferred to its parish hall until lockdown when they were discontinued altogether.
Father Philip explained the masonry, described as an ornamental bust and the size of a small Easter egg, fell during the night.
He said: “Though the masonry came down in an area where nobody goes, people’s safety came first.
“That is why we immediately decided to close the church until the whole of the inside roof was checked out.”
Father PhiIlip added it came as a surprise as in the early 1990s extensive repair work was carried out to the roof inside the church.