My early morning alarm call today came courtesy of a large crane manoeuvring itself onto the site next door.  It has arrived to lift the roof trusses onto the first of the new houses, a process that is fascinating to watch (well I  think it is!).  Once the first one was in place - a process that took quite a bit of time to achieve - it seems to be more-or-less plain sailing with successive trusses being lifted and located in a couple of minutes.

This little pair of semis will have, by the looks of things, around 20 roof trusses spanning them, compared with the 5 that served the enormous barn that was the chapel.  Victorians are usually credited with over-engineering - think of the bridges they built that have few problems with contemporary traffic, compared with those built in the 50's and 60's - but not it seems on church roof structures.

As I have watched the process, I found myself wondering how they got the trusses onto the old chapel - no crane, no hydraulics, and massive spans to be bridged.  It serves to add to the wonder of ancient cathedrals that they were built without the kind of equipment we now take for granted... and it makes me wonder how many people were killed or permanently maimed in their construction.

It's good to see the new houses growing quickly, to see future homes taking shape and to see the land preparing to serve its local community in ways our forebears wouldn't have imagined!