Massive monument to celebrate Christianity will finally be built... near the M6
A 169ft-high monument to celebrate Christianity is expected to finally be built this summer – near the M6.
The Eternal Wall of Answered Prayer, which will be more than twice the size of the Angel of the North, is to be built in Coleshill, on the outskirts of Birmingham.
The project was expected to be built in 2022, but construction was delayed by rising inflation during the cost of living crisis, as well as other 'unforeseen' costs and design 'complexities'.
In an email sent to supporters, the charity behind the monument - also called the Eternal Wall of Answered Prayer - added that it was 'getting closer and closer to work starting'.
The charity revealed that it had 'an urgent and immediate £65,000 shortfall', but that a scale model had passed wind testing.
It will be visible from up to six miles away and be seen by thousands of people each week as they drive past on the motorway. People in cars on the M6 and M42 will be able to glimpse the monument on their journeys, as will those on flights to and from Birmingham Airport.
Richard Gamble, the monument's founder, told The Telegraph that building work was scheduled to begin over the summer and the landmark will formally open in autumn 2027.
Built in the shape of an infinity loop, and resembling a mathematical Möbius strip, the wall will represent how 'God has no beginning and no end'.
It will feature a million bricks, with each one digitally linked to a story 'revealing how Jesus has answered a specific prayer for an individual'.
'I would get funny looks'
The project has cost around £10 million in total, with the vast majority of funding coming from the public.
Speaking to The Telegraph, Mr Gamble described the journey to completion as 'brutal but a privilege'.
'I've never built a national landmark, so part of the delay has been my own naivety, not realising that something so complex would take so long,' he said.
'Now, we are hoping to start building in summer once the final testing stages are completed.'
Mr Gamble became a Christian in 1990 and told the Telegraph that he had the idea for the wall in 2004. He said that the concept came to him while carrying a wooden cross on his back to mark Easter, which he 'recognised as God'.
'I just had this flash of a thought that came through my mind, which I recognised as God, of building a wall made of a million bricks where every single brick would represent the story of answered prayer,' he said.
'It was just a thought that came in, that was not my own, that interrupted my thought pattern. I've learnt that it is from God,' he told the Telegraph.
He said that his idea was greeted by scepticism for 10 years, explaining: 'I would talk to people about it and just get funny looks'.
But in 2016, Mr Gamble quit his job running a software business and launched a crowdfunding campaign, initially raising £47,000 to fund a competition sponsored by the Royal Institute of British Architects. The panel selected the infinity loop designed by Southampton-based Snug Architects.
'Landmark will serve as a place of hope'
It was given the green light in 2020 after North Warwickshire Borough Council granted planning permission.
Andy Street, then the mayor of the West Midlands, said: 'This landmark will serve as a place of hope for many, and one that will help us remember the Christian heritage of our nation'.
The team have been collecting messages detailing stories of answered prayers since 2018, which they say increased in number over lockdown.
Mr Gamble said: 'The idea behind Eternal Wall of Answered Prayer has always been to build a crowd-created piece of public art that will make hope visible.'
'We're not building this landmark to have something nice to look at, we're building a community-focused structure that carries a legacy; generations in hundreds of years' time will see it and be inspired.'
Commenting on the monument, MP Stephen Timms described it as an 'inspiring idea' and a 'fantastic design'.
He added: 'I think it will make a big impact on the national consciousness.
'It's a reflection of the fact that many, many people in Britain today, as well as in our history, have experienced answered prayer.'
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