Folk musician Clive Webb, from Broke in the Hunter Valley, noticed St Cuthbert’s Anglican Church as he drove through from Orange in June.

The deconsecrated church was set to be demolished until it caught the eye of the man now known to friends as “the Reverend”.

Within a fortnight of his epiphany at Ulan, Mr Webb purchased the church and began making the two-and-a half-hour drive to Ulan as often as possible to prepare it for relocation.

He removed the pressed tin interior by hand and extracted the nails one by one to ensure the church could be recreated in full.

On Thursday this week, Mr Webb recruited a group of friends and fellow musicians, three trailers, two trucks and a dog to take the church apart and drive it back to Broke.

With the students of Ulan Public School watching from their fenceline, Mr Webb and his crew detached the wings from the church and separated the walls before loading them for the journey to Broke.

Mr Webb has restored houses before, but this is his first attempt at a church.

“He just likes old houses and appreciates the nice things in old houses, like the pressed metal and the fretwork,” said his wife, Robyn Webb.

Mr Webb plans to rebuild and restore the church on his quarter acre block in Broke to use as a music studio for a casual group of musicians who currently jam at a friend’s house.

The church may serve a recording studio in the future, and the Webbs may even hire it out as a wedding venue to cater to the growing demand for small church weddings in the Hunter Valley.