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More on the “Crooked Spire”
From J. H. Taylor, Rotarian Past Service Brookville, Ontario,
Canada
 Possibly
security reasons prohibit the naming of the location of the
"Crooked Spire", but if not, here is the story.
The spire is that of the parish church (St. Mary's) in
Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England. The church was erected
sometime in the 11th Century (I believe the year 1037) and the
generally accepted version of the spire is that it was built of
wood with a very heavy lead covering, The wood was green and as
it dried out, the weight of the lead twisted it, the result
being that it looks very much like a corkscrew. The spire is
perfectly safe, I am informed that it leans to the south 7 feet
6 inches, to the southwest 7 feet 10 inches, and to the west 3
feet 2 "inches.
A
local legend is that the bird on the top of the spire one day
saw a virgin couple coming from the church after their wedding
and the bird got so excited that it twisted the spire. I should
have mentioned that many years ago, Chesterfield did not have
the best of reputations for morality. The legend goes on to say
that until the bird perched on top of the spire saw another
virgin couple married the twist in the spire will remain.
Now the joke is on me. I was married in the church.
The Rotarian, February 1945
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