Inter-war Church Alterations Alan Payne July 2022
The new Kingsdown Chapel photographed in 1939. The original foundation stone next to the basement door (courtesy John Brooke Flashman)
We don’t normally regard the 1920s and 1930s as strongly religious periods but that wasn’t absolutely true. Many people had lost loved ones in the Great War and were struggling to understand how the horrors of war fitted into a religious context. Others were drawn towards religion to remember those who had been killed. Both these aspects were apparent in Box and a number of building developments emerged.
Kingsdown United Methodist Church, 1926
The original Kingsdown Methodist Chapel was founded in 1869.[1] But by the First World War the chapel was recorded as small and perhaps not well-built, much of the material and land given.[2] It had apparently fallen on less prosperous times (the whole Methodist movement was probably declining in the inter-war years).
A few dedicated supporters decided to build a new Methodist Church in 1926, encouraged by the Butt family of Kingsdown stone merchants. The spiritual initiative was led by Rev WHS Snow (Bath Circuit minister) and Sister Lillian Lamb (goddaughter of the family of William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army). Captain RD Wills promised financial assistance of £250 towards the rebuilding cost but there was a problem because suitable land could not be found. So, it was decided to rebuild on the site of the old chapel. The new chapel was opened on 1 July 1926 attended by the vicar of Box Church and a silver key presented to Captain Wills in recognition of his generosity and a plaque inside the building recorded that Sister Lillian co-ordinated the upwards extension.[3] Because it was an amalgamation of new and old churches it was often called The Chapels (plural).
Simeon Butt and other members of the Butt family made substantial contributions to the new building, probably donating the stone materials from their quarry and doing much of the labour. We know that the Butt quarry produced fine stones because, on the outside of the Bath Guildhall, some of the pages in books held by statues are reputed to have been restored using stone from their Kingsdown Quarry.[4] Treasurer John Brooke recorded that the total cost of the building was £704 (£45,000 in today’s values). At some point the basement of the chapel was used as a Methodist schoolroom.
Kingsdown was part of the Bath Methodist circuit and joined the Methodist Union until 1932 when three major branches of the movement merged and adopted the name The Methodist Church. The last service in Kingsdown Chapel was Sunday 12 November 1967 and the building remained in a state of decline and dereliction until the late 1970s when it was bought by Richard Seaman from Bath.
Kingsdown United Methodist Church, 1926
The original Kingsdown Methodist Chapel was founded in 1869.[1] But by the First World War the chapel was recorded as small and perhaps not well-built, much of the material and land given.[2] It had apparently fallen on less prosperous times (the whole Methodist movement was probably declining in the inter-war years).
A few dedicated supporters decided to build a new Methodist Church in 1926, encouraged by the Butt family of Kingsdown stone merchants. The spiritual initiative was led by Rev WHS Snow (Bath Circuit minister) and Sister Lillian Lamb (goddaughter of the family of William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army). Captain RD Wills promised financial assistance of £250 towards the rebuilding cost but there was a problem because suitable land could not be found. So, it was decided to rebuild on the site of the old chapel. The new chapel was opened on 1 July 1926 attended by the vicar of Box Church and a silver key presented to Captain Wills in recognition of his generosity and a plaque inside the building recorded that Sister Lillian co-ordinated the upwards extension.[3] Because it was an amalgamation of new and old churches it was often called The Chapels (plural).
Simeon Butt and other members of the Butt family made substantial contributions to the new building, probably donating the stone materials from their quarry and doing much of the labour. We know that the Butt quarry produced fine stones because, on the outside of the Bath Guildhall, some of the pages in books held by statues are reputed to have been restored using stone from their Kingsdown Quarry.[4] Treasurer John Brooke recorded that the total cost of the building was £704 (£45,000 in today’s values). At some point the basement of the chapel was used as a Methodist schoolroom.
Kingsdown was part of the Bath Methodist circuit and joined the Methodist Union until 1932 when three major branches of the movement merged and adopted the name The Methodist Church. The last service in Kingsdown Chapel was Sunday 12 November 1967 and the building remained in a state of decline and dereliction until the late 1970s when it was bought by Richard Seaman from Bath.
Box Church without a porch gate but with a gas lamp post (courtesy Box Parish Council)
Changes at St Thomas à Becket Church
The Anglican church was resurgent in the inter-war period, led in Box largely by wealthy, middle-class members of the congregation, who wanted to make small improvements in their worship, whilst the church authorities were interested in liturgy. The 1927 proposal to revise the Book of Common Prayer caused great consternation. The proposals were intended to accommodate more Anglo-Catholic practices and caused a furious debate in parliament until they were watered down in 1929. The Box vicar, Rev George Foster, remained aloof from the arguments, possibly because his main interest was getting the Hazelbury Pageant off the ground in 1925, followed by the alternative Christmas and Easter plays written by his wife Kate. It is probable that some leading lay church figures in the village tended towards a High Church vision but George was keen to involve as many residents as possible in church events.
The Anglican church was resurgent in the inter-war period, led in Box largely by wealthy, middle-class members of the congregation, who wanted to make small improvements in their worship, whilst the church authorities were interested in liturgy. The 1927 proposal to revise the Book of Common Prayer caused great consternation. The proposals were intended to accommodate more Anglo-Catholic practices and caused a furious debate in parliament until they were watered down in 1929. The Box vicar, Rev George Foster, remained aloof from the arguments, possibly because his main interest was getting the Hazelbury Pageant off the ground in 1925, followed by the alternative Christmas and Easter plays written by his wife Kate. It is probable that some leading lay church figures in the village tended towards a High Church vision but George was keen to involve as many residents as possible in church events.
|
Hazelbury Chapel Restored 1925-26
The first change at Box Church was the restoration of the north aisle by Alfred and the Hon Mrs Dora Shaw Mellor of Box House. They were generous village patrons, sometimes called lord and lady of the manor. The north isle of Box Church was in need of renovation, not used as a separate altar for many years. It had last been substantially altered in 1713 when church chamber rooms over the aisle were removed but had since been used as little more than a corridor for processions of the Friendly Societies in annual events on Bank Holidays and patronal celebrations. The Shaw Mellors decided that its restoration would be a fitting tribute to their eldest daughter, Joan Marion (first granddaughter of Viscount Alverstone) who had died on 2 May 1923, aged 20. On 10 May 1925, the Venerable RT Talbot, Archdeacon of Swindon, came to Box Church for a Service of Dedication of the chapel.[5] Historically, the service was to enable guilds and individuals to re-dedicate themselves to the local parish church but this service was much more significant. The Archdeacon took an unusual sermon for his text, a topic suitable for the Methodist Church: Be not drunk with wine, but be filled with the Spirit.[6] It was clearly meant to appeal to many non-conformists at a time when the established church was under challenge from the Methodist movement in the village. |
Hazelbury chapel and 18th century embroidery (courtesy Carol Payne)
|
The great and the good assembled to make their dedications to the church: George J Kidston gave an altar mensa cloth; Mrs Shaw-Mellor a white super-frontal; Miss Annie Vezey a chalice veil; Mrs RW Tilley a silver box for holding the bread; Miss Batterbury a bread press; Rev Vere Awdry a pulpit bible; and Colonel Spencely a litany desk. The silk embroidery behind the altar dates to the 1700s and was donated by the Hon Mrs Shaw-Mellor.
|
Unfortunately, there were complications with the restoration and the work wasn’t complete at the time of Dr Talbot’s visit. So, in February 1926, Dr Nickson, Bishop of Bristol, came to dedicate the chapel: For the offering of public and private service.[7]
Various historic claims were made: probably the oldest part of the building dating from the 12th century, carefully restored, the chancel of the original church. At the same time, the new processional cross (a gift by Mrs Edmund Charles Pontifex, the daughter of Col AC Coney, formerly of Sunnyside, Box) was dedicated to her mother Mary who died in a tragic railway incident in 1900 whilst crossing the line on her way to Ashley, her father Arthur who died in 1909 and her husband who had died in Box in 1925. The bishop, choir, clergy, churchwardens then processed down the centre of the church and up the north aisle to the Hazelbury Chapel.[8] Left: Coney-Pontifex memorial window of the Resurrection, 1927 (courtesy Carol Payne) |
The church fete of 1926 was held to fundraise for the installation of a coal-powered heating system in the church and for an electric light system.[9] The improvements to the north aisle continued and in 1927 the whole roof there was restored at a cost of £172.[10] By then, Rev George Foster was able to praise the re-appointed and restored Hazelbury Chapel. This adds considerably to the beauty of the quaintest and oldest part of our parish church.[11]
|
|
More changes in Box Church followed in the 1930s. The Children’s Corner (above left) was dedicated in 1932 in its location in the south aisle. The beautiful Mothers’ Union standard (above right) was dedicated by the Bishop of Bristol in September 1933 (photos courtesy Carol Payne). The standard was allegedly embroidered by Mrs Shaw Mellor using her own wedding dress as the fabric base. In 1935 electric light replaced gas mantles. In 1936 three of the four Box Church bells were removed for tuning and repair and re-hung in 1936 but it wasn’t successful and in 1937 two cracked bells were re-cast.
Dedication presentation of the Mothers' Union banner in 1933. The Hon Dora Shaw Mellor seen left of the banner (courtesy Genevieve Brunt)
The line between vague assertions of history and provable evidence remained uncertain at this time. Following the researches of GJ Kidston into the manor of Hazelbury, much time was spent trying to locate the Oulde Church recorded there in Allen’s 1626 map. It seems to be at this time that the stone coffins outside Box Church were alleged to have been extracted from the ruins of that church, notwithstanding that the likelihood of transporting and then storing stone coffins makes no sense in a churchyard stuffed with Georgian chest tombs on top of Roman villa remains.
Gladys Brooke sitting next to the stone coffins (courtesy John Flashman)
The church improvements in Box in the 1920s and 30s are approximately a century old. Many of those works are still relevant today but they also highlight how different life was then – lighting before the introduction of electricity and a time when the church’s history was more anecdotal than proven.
One aspect has lasted more than any other, albeit in adversity. This is the mutual worship and support between the Anglican and Methodist movements. Rev George Foster was instrumental in starting the initiative and the 1937 Methodist Gypsy Fair to fundraise for hospital needs symbolised the joint approach: opened by the Hon Mrs Shaw Mellor ("always a good friend"),
Mrs Maltin (the vicar's wife bringing apologies from him) and Mrs Llewellyn Hughes. Mrs Shaw Mellor commented: "They all worked with the same object, in trying to make the world a better place than when they came into it." [12]
One aspect has lasted more than any other, albeit in adversity. This is the mutual worship and support between the Anglican and Methodist movements. Rev George Foster was instrumental in starting the initiative and the 1937 Methodist Gypsy Fair to fundraise for hospital needs symbolised the joint approach: opened by the Hon Mrs Shaw Mellor ("always a good friend"),
Mrs Maltin (the vicar's wife bringing apologies from him) and Mrs Llewellyn Hughes. Mrs Shaw Mellor commented: "They all worked with the same object, in trying to make the world a better place than when they came into it." [12]
References
[1] Box Methodist Church: 150 Years 1834-1984 leaflet
[2] Bath Chronicle and Herald, 3 July 1926
[3] Courtesy Peggy Butt
[4] Courtesy John Brooke Flashman
[5] Parish Magazine, May 1925
[6] Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser, 16 May 1925
[7] Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette, 27 February 1926
[8] Parish Magazine, March 1926
[9] Parish Magazine, February 1927
[10] Parish Magazine, February 1927
[11] Parish Magazine, February 1927
[12] The Wiltshire Times, 13 February 1937
[1] Box Methodist Church: 150 Years 1834-1984 leaflet
[2] Bath Chronicle and Herald, 3 July 1926
[3] Courtesy Peggy Butt
[4] Courtesy John Brooke Flashman
[5] Parish Magazine, May 1925
[6] Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser, 16 May 1925
[7] Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette, 27 February 1926
[8] Parish Magazine, March 1926
[9] Parish Magazine, February 1927
[10] Parish Magazine, February 1927
[11] Parish Magazine, February 1927
[12] The Wiltshire Times, 13 February 1937