The two churches of Haslemere had a moderately Catholic
tradition in the past, though less than their departing incumbent would have
liked (we will see what the new one brings with them). In both St Bartholomew’s
and its daughter church, St Christopher’s, you can see similar patterns
reflected as elsewhere. St Bart’s mostly dates from an almost complete
rebuilding in 1870 and seems to have been built by an architect who had no idea
what he ought to do because it’s a long distance from Ecclesiological
correctness. Pevsner loathed St Christopher’s but I quite like it – virtually a
single, barrel-vaulted space full of light.
The mid-Victorian rector of Haslemere, Mr Etheridge, had
been the chaplain and was the grandson-in-law of the firmly Evangelical bishop
of Winchester, Dr Sumner, and was put in the parish to do two things: demolish
the old church and rebuild it, and resist the dreadful incursions of High
Churchery. However he showed that such a position was not incompatible with
gorgeous fixtures like the red marble font, and stained-glass windows full of
saints.
Mr Etheridge was succeeded by Mr Aitken, who from their respective
photos in the church history you’d have thought was even more definitely
Evangelical as he was portrayed in imperial collar and white bow-tie rather
than a dog collar; but he turned out to be a funny sort of Low Churchman who
clearly wanted to fill the church with lovely things. In that he fitted in well
with late-Victorian and Edwardian Haslemere which was a bit of an
Arts-and-Crafts colony. Certainly St Christopher’s, which was built during Mr Aitken's incumbency and furnished in the latter years of it, has a decidedly Catholic
and arty tinge to it. Above the altar – considerably raised above the rest of
the church – is a huge triptych designed by the architect’s wife, Minnie
Dibden-Spooner. As well as an array of saints (and Jesus), on the right-hand
side, among heroic Victorian Christians such as Florence Nightingale, Sir James
Paget and General Gordon, can be found Father Damien of Molokai (not canonised
until 2009), John Keble and Bishop Edward King, last victim of the Ritual
Trials. This is an extraordinary thing for an ostensibly Evangelical clergyman
to commission, if he did.
It was after Mr Aitken retired in 1918 that the next Rector,
William Wragge, brought in a more definite Catholicism – apparently of the
Percy Dearmer, Sarum-Rite variety. The parish began using the English Hymnal, a
hymnbook so reviled by Evangelical bishops on its publication that it was
banned from their dioceses. It seems to have been Mr Wragge who introduced the Lady
Chapel in St Bart’s. Both churches have Lady Chapels and both are a bit weird.
If you’re a smallish parish church the usual place to put your Lady Chapel is
at the east end of one of the aisles (that’s where Swanvale Halt’s is). Not in
Haslemere: in St Bart’s it’s at the west end of the north aisle and the altar
faces south, while at St Christopher’s it’s
in a little side room fitted out in 1935, and the altar is the
windowsill, I suppose because it’s such a small space they didn’t want to
reduce it any further. I’ve never seen this anywhere else.
Both churches have aumbries for the reservation of the
Blessed Sacrament though I have yet to discover when this was allowed. The
continuing Catholicism of the parish is suggested by the fact that it was the
favourite designer of the Anglo-Papalist movement, Martin Travers, who was
commissioned to make the hanging crucifix in St Christopher’s, as a memorial to
Kit Tanner, chaplain on HMS Fiji in 1941 who rescued 30 members of the crew
after its sinking at the cost of his own life. St Christopher’s is also the
first church I’ve seen in this diocese to have proper English altars, with
curtains on riddel-posts. At those, and at the mighty triptych, Percy Dearmer
would have nodded in approval!
Predictably, both churches were re-ordered in the 1970s, the
altars brought forward and arrangements for the choir changed. In St
Christopher’s case it’s a bit of a shame as the high altar is easily visible
from every part of the church. It also has a fantastic acoustic – as I found
out. ‘Lift up your hearts …’
Although Travers is best known for his full blooded baroque work in places such as Bourne Street, he actually produced a lot of English altars, not necessarily in a classical idiom. His work was definitely approved by the Council for the Care of Churches and F C Eeles, its secretary, who shared Dearmer's antipathy to Ninian Comper.
ReplyDeleteThank you, John. I was indeed surprised to see Travers's work at Haslemere but I will now be primed to look out for more in the right places.
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