Tag: church

Christ Church, Warminster

Some notes by the Reverend Henry Robert Whytehead in the booklet The Minster And Church Life In Warminster, published in 1911:

Christ Church
Standing conspicuously on a hill south of the town is seen the tower of Christ Church. It was the Rev. W. Dalby, then Vicar of Warminster, who first bestirred people to think of providing for the religious needs of the people who lived in the Common. The first stone of Christ Church was laid by the Vicar on the 15th of April, 1830, and the Church was consecrated by Bishop Burgess a year after. It is said that it is the first Church built in this part of the diocese since the          Reformation. Although the total cost amounted to £4,708, the whole of this money was paid by May, 1835, and in addition a considerable endowment fund was raised.

During the seventy years that have passed since this date, much more has been done in the Church and district. The first incumbent, the Rev. J. H. Walsh, held the charge for twenty-nine years, when he retired to the living of Bishopstrow, which he held for eleven years. His body was laid to rest in the churchyard, among those to whom he ministered so long. The next incumbent, the Reverend R. R. Hutton, organised the Sunday Schools and Bible Classes, which are now       maintaining a very vigorous life. The Reverend W. Hickman followed, being licensed to the living in 1867, and he held it for over thirty years. During his incumbency the chancel was built, together with vestry, and organ chamber; then followed stained-glass windows, tiled floor, and a new organ, and other improvements which were effected, at a total cost of £2,000. Finally, in 1880, the west gallery was removed, arcades of stone were raised to support the vast span of the roof, and a new roof of pine was put up, the church was re-seated, and above all, every seat in the church was made free. These improvements, together with a further endowment, cost a sum of £3,500. The latest additions to Christ Church, consist of a new pulpit of alabaster (1887), a peal of tubular bells, and a considerable addition to the churchyard.

Christ Church was at first a district chapelry, but has since become an ecclesiastical parish, and has a population of 1,800 souls. The convenient glebe house, standing close to the Church, in three acres of land, was added to the living in the time of the Rev. R. R. Hutton, greatly at the expense of the Rev. H. J. Walsh, his predecessor. The  services are frequent, hearty, and well attended. The present Vicar, the Reverend James S. Stuart, entered upon his incumbency in the year 1889.

St. John’s Church, Warminster

The following notes by the Reverend Henry Robert Whytehead, are from the booklet The Minster And Church Life In Warminster, published in 1911:

St. John’s Church
For many years the people of Warminster, living in the township of Boreham, had felt the need of a Church, the Minster being a mile and a half distant. At length the late Squire of Bishopstrow and his son, Mr. George Temple, both keen and devoted churchmen, gave eight acres of valuable land, as a site, burial ground, and part endowment, besides £500, and when on S. Matthew’s Day, 1865, the beautiful Church was consecrated as a chapel-of-ease to the Minster, the whole of the £2,700, which the building cost, was either paid, or promised. Sir E. Street was the architect, and St. John’s is a model of what a country church should be. It consists of Nave, N. Aisle, Chancel, Organ Chamber, and Vestries. The benches are of plain oak, substantial, and unpretending. The East Window represents the Ascension. The reredos, by Earp, is a beautiful one, and is a memorial of Mr. W. J. Temple. The Altar was offered by Bishop Hamilton, and the pulpit, the low screen, the font, lectern, and several stained-glass windows, have been given by various friends. The upper brass screen of very        handsome design, was placed in memory of Mr. George Temple by his widow.

The massive stone lych-gate was erected in memory of Mrs. Temple by her three daughters. Close by are the school and sexton’s house, of which Sir E. Street was also the architect. More recently a large addition to the school was made in memory of Lieutenant Vere de Lone Temple by his family. Visitors are always struck with the combination of Church, lych-gate, house and school, and with the exceptionally lovely churchyard, with its carefully planted trees, its neat gravel paths, and smooth soft turf. A few years ago by the strenuous exertions of the Reverend E. W. Legg, then assistant curate, and the members of the Guild of the Ascension, and their friends, a Parish Room was added to the group of St. John’s buildings. This serves as an invaluable meeting place for all kinds of parochial purposes, both religious and social.

At the present time, a large scheme is afloat for the enrichment of the interior of St. John’s, by pictures of scripture scenes, which have been prepared by Mr. C. E. Ponting, consulting architect of Salisbury Cathedral, to be carried out by Mr. J. Powell, of Whitefriars, in opus sectile. The Reverend J. W. R. Brocklebank, assistant priest at St. John’s, and his father, have given very largely to this work, which it is hoped will be continued by the efforts of many friends of the Church, until the interior is generally enriched.