A church in Biggin Hill, which was built from the remains of another church bombed during the Second World War, is now a grade II listed building.

ST MARK'S Church in Main Road is a moving building in more ways than one. Its roots stem from the sad demise of All Saints - a church in Old Kent Road, Peckham, which was damaged in a south London bombing raid during the Blitz.

From that moment All Saints was deemed too unsafe to use and remained derelict until 1952 when it was spotted by the Vicar of Biggin Hill, Reverend Vivian Symons, who was looking to build a new church in the village.

In his book, The Moving Church, the Rev Symons said: "As I turned out of the Old Kent Road into Trafalgar Avenue and crossed the bridge over the Surrey Canal, the church loomed up in front of me.

"It took up the whole length of a cul-de-sac, and was an immense building.

"I was pleased by the size as it would allow for wastage and damage in dismantling.

"My church would be smaller so there was the possibility I might have enough materials to build a new church hall as well."

He began forming a plan to recycle the materials from All Saints for a new church in Main Road.

Rev Symons felt the existing St Mark's Church, with its corrugated steel roof and small capacity, was in need of a rebuild.

However, he was conscious this would only be possible on a cheap budget - recycling was the key.

The first goal was to break through the roof of All Saints and demolish the bell tower.

A service was held when the bell was rung for the last time.

Then, following the dismantling of the tower and roof, work began on the brick walls.

A small team of volunteers would loosen a handful of bricks at a time, stack them onto the scaffolding platform then lower them to the floor before loading as many as possible into a lorry.

Three years and four months later, 125,000 bricks and 200 tonnes of stone from the bomb-damaged Peckham church had been transported by lorry to Biggin Hill more than 19 miles away and stored in a field next to the existing church.

Not only did Symons help move the bricks, stone and roof timbers from the bombed Victorian church, but he also etched the 51 windows in the new building with a dentist's drill.

By 1958, the previous St Mark's Church, which had stood since 1904, had been dismantled and work began on the new St Mark's.

After a year of hard labour the church was reborn and the bells rang out for the first time in April 1959.

St Mark's was made a grade II listed building by the Department for Media Culture and Sport in November last year.

At the time, cultural minister Margaret Hodge said: "The decision to list a 20th-century church is a complex one which needs careful consideration, but this church tells such an amazing and inspiring story it is right to protect it for future generations."

Rev Symons, who is described as a "truly exceptional and determined character" by the Biggin Hill Society's president, Josephine Cole, died in 1976 at the age of 62.

To find out more information, visit the website movingchurch.org/profile.htm