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Concern that population shifts resulting from industrialisation during the 19th century had left many communities without ready access to an Anglican place of worship prompted a wave of new church construction in the period following the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The programme was given legislative sanction and impetus by a series of measures beginning with the Act 58 Geo III c.45 “for building and promoting the building of additional Churches in populous Parishes”. Under this legislation a “Commission for building new Churches” was established to assess the sufficiency of provision at district level and to make recommendations.
The building of a new church at Downall Green does not seem to have been a specific recommendation of the New Churches Commission but it was, similarly, a response to fears about what the Rev Edmund Sibson, then curate-in-charge at Ashton Chapel (St Thomas'), termed “the evil consequences of a redundant population without sufficient Church room”. Sibson was evidently the prime mover behind the project. The 10 March 1837 edition of The Wigan Gazette refers to him expressing the view that “Churches ought to be multiplied till there is a Church and a Pastor for every three thousand souls”, and as “giving his valuable mind in promoting the erection of a church in Ashton”. According to William Beamont's “Winwick: Its History And Antiquities” (2nd ed., 1876): “Mr Sibson ... relieved the rector [James John Hornby] almost wholly of the anxious care of building and finishing the new church of Holy Trinity, in Ashton, with its parsonage and schools, and also of the parish schools in Haydock”. Rector Hornby, however, made the necessary “pecuniary sacrifices” in order that these ambitions might be realised, “for ... all or most of the new parish churches … were either wholly built or greatly assisted by Mr Hornby's liberality...”.
James John Hornby, the son of his immediate predecessor as Rector of Winwick and a nephew of the Earl of Derby, had been presented to the living by his uncle - the patron - in 1812. The above portrait of him, “The Reverend James John Hornby standing beside a picture” by artist George Richmond, now resides in a private collection.
Edmund Sibson had been presented to the living of Ashton-in-Makerfield (then a small unaugmented curacy) by Rev James Hornby's father in 1809. In 1845 he would become the first Vicar of “the Parish and Vicarage of St. Thomas, in Ashton-in-Makerfield”. The portrait, “Reverend Edmund Sibson, Sometime Vicar of Ashton in Makerfield”, artist unknown, is in the Warrington Museum & Art Gallery collection.
A fuller account of this incident and the events leading up to it is given in Syd Hibbert's “Come Let Us Worship: A History of the Church of St Thomas the Apostle, Ashton-in-Makefield” (self-published, 1993) :
“In 1869 the then Vicar [of St Thomas'], Rev F Kenney, died and after a vacancy of a few months the living was offered [by instigation of then Holy Trinity Rector W J Melville, who, under the 1845 Winwick Rectory Act, had the right of presentation of the new Vicar] to the Rev W Page Oldham, of Orford, Warrington....
On his first Sunday in the Parish, May 8th 1870, Mr Oldham … entered the pulpit in a white gown. Immediately there was uproar and half the congregation walked out as a protest against the introduction of ‘ritualistic practices’ in their church. The Protestant miners were adamant that the new Vicar should preach in the black gown of ‘low church’. Mr Oldham argued that only his white surplice was in accordance with the prayer book, and he was unable to understand how it could be a mark of Romanism or ritualism. Twice that day the vicar was booed as he left the church, and in the days that followed he had to be protected by the police. The landlord of the Angel inn, where Mr. Oldham was temporarily resident while the vicarage was being refurbished, was also warned that his premises would be burned down if he didn’t throw the vicar out at once.
On the following Sunday the police were in attendance, but again as the Vicar entered the pulpit wearing his surplice, a large number of worshippers left there church, and again Mr Oldham had to have a police escort to his lodgings. During the week that followed, posters appeared in the town condemning the Vicar and his ‘ritualistic practices’. Others followed warning that ‘riotous, violent or indecent behaviour’ was punishable by a fine of £5.00 or two months imprisonment.
On the night of June 12th the mob turned their attention on Holy Trinity where the services were considered ‘High Church’ and there was a surpliced choir. They stormed the church just as evening service began. The Rector, Rev W J Melville, tried to calm his frightened congregation. The service was called off but some of the choir were attacked as they left the church through a private door into the Rectory garden. One of the choirboys had his surplice removed and torn to shreds. Some of the troublemakers were later punished, twenty one persons being brought before the Magistrates on June 30th. Six were fined varying amounts from £1.00 to £5.00 and the rest conditionally discharged.
On the next Sunday Mr Oldham entered the pulpit without his surplice and publicly announced that in future he would wear the black gown in deference to the wishes of the congregation, and to stop any further disturbances and perhaps bloodshed in Ashton.
This ought to have been the end of the matter, but on July 16th the Rector of Holy Trinity invited the choir of St Anne’s, Warrington, to his Rectory along with some friends, including Mr Oldham. There were of course, those who objected to their Vicar associating himself with ‘high church’ which they considered Holy Trinity to be, and on his return to Ashton, Mr Oldham was again met by a hostile crowd. Happily, however, this was the last occurrence, and Mr Oldham settled in to enjoy a normal ministry in the Parish, winning the respect of his parishioners, but only for a few months. On the evening of Sunday 30th April 1871, he died suddenly of a heart attack after taking services as usual earlier in the day”.
“An event, second only in importance to the building over seventy years ago of the Rectory Church of Ashton-in-Makerfield (Holy Trinity, Downall Green) was the dedication on Saturday afternoon by the Lord Bishop of Liverpool (Dr Chavasse) of a new chancel and vestries, etc, which have been wrought at a cost of £2,200. There has been a remarkable response to the appeal for funds, and a wonderful example of spontaneous generosity in the effort to provide not only a new chancel, vestries and alterations to the west end of the church but to make the additional building as replete as possible for the observance of Divine worship.
These special gifts include [as printed on the Form of Service for Consecration] a stained glass east window, three lights, by Miss Daglish; carved oak choir stalls by Mr R S Daglish, Mrs Buttonshaw, Mrs Elias and Mrs P Mitchell; stained glass south window of chancel and brass altar cross by Mrs Crompton and family; stained glass north window of chancel by Mrs Clark and family; carved oak reredos by Mrs E Waterworth, Miss A Fairhurst, Mrs Webber and H Fairhurst (£30) and the Rector (£26), value £56; carved oak altar rails by Parish Church Women's Bible Class, value £30; carved oak screen for arch on south side by Anonymous (in preparation), value £85; carved oak Litany desk by St Peter's Women's Bible Class, value £15; black and white marble tiled floor for chancel by Parish Church Men's Bible Class, value £15; white silk altar frontal by Rectory and St Andrew's Sunday School Teachers, value £15; carved oak credence table by Anonymous (in preparation), value £10; lectern Bible in dark red Morocco binding by Mr R Stone JP, value £5; pulpit desk, brass, by St Peter's Men's Bible Class, value £3 10s; service book for Holy Table In Memoriam John Edwards, value £1 5s; brass handrail for pulpit (in preparation) by Mrs E Kay, value £5; long kneeler at altar rails by St Peter's Sunday School, value £3 3s; white silk pulpit desk frontal by Rev A and Mrs White; three velvet cushions for sedilia and two kneelers by Mrs and Miss Crompton. In addition there was placed on the south wall in the church, a few days before the consecration, a brass tablet which bears the following inscription:- “THOMAS CROMPTON, JP \ Churchwarden of this Church for 38 years and \ member of the Urban District Council of \ Ashton-in-Makerfield for the same period. \ Born 1829. Died 1910. \ This tablet was erected by members of the \ congregation and friends in grateful recognition of his upright character, his faithful and strenuous work for the church, and unfailing devotion to his public duties”.
There was also a splendid congregation present to join in the consecration service, which was performed by the Lord Bishop of Liverpool (Dr Chavasse)... In the congregation we noticed Sir Thomas and Lady Ratcliffe-Ellis, Mr H S Woodcock JP, Mr Robt. Stone JP, Mrs Penhryn, the Misses Penhryn, Mr T Penrhyn, Mr and Mrs R S Daglish, Miss St George, Mrs Fenton, Mrs Morrison Hughman, Mr Tom Stone, Mr R Stone junr., Mr W Clark, Mrs and Miss Stuart, Mr and Mrs Openshaw, Mr and Mrs P Clark, Mr and Mrs W E McClure, Mrs Hunt (Lancaster), Miss Holmes, the Misses Richardson, Mrs and Miss Muzzell, Dr and Mrs Winstanley, Mrs and Miss Wickham, Mr and Miss Johnson (Farnworth), Mr Dawson, Mrs Forrest, Mrs W Smethurst, Mrs Horne, Mrs Pattison, Mrs Mill, Mrs Wyn-Jones, Miss Hannah, Mrs Watts, Mrs Bryson, Mrs Bolton, Mrs and Miss Campbell, Miss Buer, Mrs Cobban, Mrs D B Marsh and Miss Marsh, Mr and Mrs J H Makinson, Miss Charmon, Mrs Scott, Mr J C Hartley, Mr E W Ralph (architect) and Mr W J Bickerstaff (builder)….
The Bishop ventured to say that “there are very few churches in the diocese which needed a new chancel or new vestries more than did this church... And I am quite sure that as you took on this building, which has so improved and beautified this house of prayer, you are thankful that the Spirit of God allowed you to take this step...”
Mr A Aspinall presided at the organ.”
[From The Wigan Examiner, 7 March 1914]
“Our beautiful Chancel was consecrated on Saturday, Feb. 28th, by the Lord Bishop of Liverpool, and it is a day that will long be remembered by all who had the privilege to take part in such a Service. Such a day happens to us but once in a lifetime. Long before the time when the Service was to begin, the Church was completely filled. The procession of the Clergy and both Choirs, 70 in number, started from the School at 4.15, chanting as they went the Psalm “O how amiable are Thy dwellings, Thou Lord of Hosts”. It was a fitting beginning to a Service that was all through beautiful and inspiring, and one felt that all who were present were uplifted with feelings of thankfulness and praise for the blessings which had been bestowed upon us in this Parish. \ The Opening Services were continued on Sunday, March 1st, when the weather again proved kind and the Church was crowded at every service…
Our Chancel is unique in many ways – it has been furnished at scarcely any cost to the Building Committee, with the exception of the heating and lighting you see nothing but gifts, and these of the richest and best.”
[From Ashton-in-Makerfield Parish Magazine Vol 4/No.4, April 1914]
The Sentence of Consecration reads as follows:
“Francis James by Divine Permission Bishop of Liverpool. To all Christian People Greeting. Whereas it having been found desirable to enlarge the Parish Church of Holy Trinity Ashton-in-Makerfield in the County of Lancaster and our own Diocese of Liverpool a Faculty was on the Eighth day of April One thousand nine hundred and thirteen granted by the Consistory Court at Liverpool to the Reverend William Williams Clerk Bachelor of Arts Rector and William Foster and Thomas Crompton Wardens of the said Church and Parish empowering them amongst other things to take down the East wall of the Chancel and to build and furnish a new and larger Chancel with space for the Organ and Vestries for the Clergy and Choir on the North side thereof as in the said Faculty is more particularly mentioned and specified according to plans and particulars now deposited and remaining in the Public Episcopal Registry at Liverpool \ And whereas a new Chancel with Organ Chamber and Vestries for the Clergy and Choir as aforesaid hath been erected in accordance with the terms of the said Faculty partly upon a portion of the Churchyard and partly upon an adjacent piece of land heretofore part of the site of the House of Residence belonging to the said Rectory \ And whereas by a Deed bearing date the Twelfth day of June One thousand nine hundred and thirteen now deposited and remaining in the Public Episcopal Registry at Liverpool the said piece of land containing by admeasurement Ninety four square yards or thereabouts hath been duly conveyed and is now vested in the said William Williams and his successors to the intent that the same might be appropriated as part of the site of the said intended new Chancel and to be devoted when consecrated to Ecclesiastical purposes for ever. \ And whereas this Edifice so enlarged as aforesaid is properly finished furnished and adorned with all things necessary for Divine Service and the Ministration of Divine Offices therein according to the Rites and Usages of the Church of England and We are now petitioned to consecrate this Edifice to the Honour and Service of God and the Ministration of Divine Offices only according to the same Rites and Usages. \ We therefore favourably inclining to this pious request and by our Ordinary and Episcopal Authority proceeding to the separation dedication and consecration of this Edifice as it is now enlarged and adorned...”.
Images:
Left – Sentence of Consecration, from the copy at Wigan Archives ref. DP2/2559/36
Right, top – photograph taken on 22 June 2022.
Right, below – photograph taken on 22 June 2022. The plaque is on the South wall of the Chancel; the inscription reads “TO THE GLORY OF GOD \ IN THE YEARS 1913-14 THIS CHURCH WAS RESTORED AND \ ENLARGED BY THE ADDITION OF THE CHANCEL AND \ VESTRIES. THE FOUNDATION STONE WAS LAID BY \ FRANCIS JAMES CHAVASSE BISHOP OF LIVERPOOL \ ON JUNE 11TH 1913 AND THE BUILDING CONSECRATED \ BY HIM ON FEBRUARY 28TH 1914 \ LAUS DEO \ W WILLIAMS, RECTOR \ A WHITE ASSIST. CURATE \ W FOSTER \ T CROMPTON CHURCHWARDENS”
The total value of the contract with W Chasen Ralph & Son is given on 26 January 1914 as £1224-6-0. Of this sum, £43-13-6 was for a New Ceiling, £75-10-0 for the new wash-house at the Rectory, £15-0-0 for “Platforms”, £85-10-0 for alterations to the West End of the Church, and £14-0-0 in respect of “East Window Extra for Columns”. The remainder presumably covered the design and construction of the new Chancel and Vestries. The statement certifies that a payment of £300 was then due to the builder William J Bickerstaff of Seven Stars Bridge, Wallgate, Wigan, “on account of work done and materials supplied”, and Mr Bickerstaff's receipt of the same.
Image (left) from the original included in the “Chancel Fund Receipts” bundle at Wigan Archives ref. DP2/2559. On the right are, from top: East end of the Church; interior views of the Choir Vestry; West exterior views of the Choir and Clergy Vestries on the North side of the Church.
The photographs were taken on (interiors) 12 and (exterior) 17 August 2023.
Sissinghurst is now best know as a horticultural desination for the fabulous gardens at the castle.
The village is less visited, and the church is small and easily missed.
It is mostly 19th century, though with 20th century reordering and some fine glass.
We found the glass the best part of the church, it is small and simple and we found it open.
Sissinghurst seemed to have been a chapel of ease of Tenterden, so not much parish history to tell.
-------------------------------------------
A (just) pre-ecclesiological church dating from 1838 to replace a small late-medieval place of worship known as `Milkhouse Street Chapel` in the parish of Cranbrook that had closed in the sixteenth century. Its nineteenth century founders were more or less told where to erect the new church. The architect was J Jennings of Hawkhurst and the church cost about £2,000. It was a simple rectangle for auditory worship. In 1893 a chancel was added to make it more acceptable to the ecclesiologists. In the 1990s further alterations were made to create a friendly and more convenient church. By the chancel steps is a medieval carved font reputed to have come from the old chapel, but by far the best furnishings are the stained glass windows. The 3 light East window is by Horace Wilkinson and depicts Archangels Michael and Gabriel. In the north wall is a pedestrian window depicting St Nicholas (1947) by J E Nuttgens - it being overshadowed in terms of dramatic effect by the easternmost window. This depicts St Cecilia, and is designed with lots of purple streaky glass by Leonard Walker (1877-1964).
Shown above, left, are John Palmer's drawings of the original east end of the Church in March 1837. On the right are (below) Rector William James Melville* standing in front of the Chancel around 1890 and (top) the same location in 1909.
Almost from the outset there had been a feeling that the facilities at the eastern end of the building were insufficient and unbecoming of the status that the Church enjoyed after 1845. At the Vestry Meeting held on 13 April 1909 the third Rector, William Williams**
“said he thought the time had come when some definite step should be taken with regard to the alterations to our Church and this being approved. A Building Committee was appointed to appoint an Architect, lay before him what the requirements were, & ask him to submit a plan & a rough estimate of the Cost. Those appointed on the Building Committee were the Rector & Wardens, Messrs R Haydock, Jno Heaton, T Cliffe, T Crompton junr, J Byrchall junr and S Peter's Wardens Peter Lowe & P Rimmer...”.
The Committee duly appointed architect William Chasen Ralph*** but little further progress seems to have been made before February 1913, when it was reported in the Parish Magazine that
“the Architect had got out the “quantities” for the actual Building of the Chancel and Vestries and [had] invited tenders for the same from a dozen builders. These the Building Committee opened on Saturday January 25th, and unanimously decided to accept the lowest tender, that of Mr Bickerstaffe of Wigan, viz. £900 12s 6d. The highest was £250 more than this. This includes all walls, floors, windows and roof, but no interior fittings... It has been decided that the work shall commence in April...”.
At a Vestry Meeting on 6 February 1913
“It was further resolved that the Rector procure form the Architects an estimated cost of the proposed alterations at the West End of the Church, and that if this estimate should not exceed £100, the alterations should be included in the application for the Faculty...”.
*W J Melville was born at Kirk Ireton, Derbyshire, in 1836 and educated at St. Peter's College, Cambridge. Following ordination he served first as a curate at St Anne’s in Liverpool, where he married Frances Gardner on 23 September 1862. He was then appointed Vicar of St. Anne's, Warrington. His arrival at Holy Trinity, in succession to Rector Sherlock, was followed almost immediately by the Ashton “anti-surplice riots”. Rector Melville's decision to retire in 1902 necessitated the issue of a commission under the Incumbents Resignation Act 1871 (34 & 35 Vict. c. 44: “An Act to enable Clergymen permanently incapacitated by illness to resign their Benefices with provision of Pensions”; in relation to Rev Melville, see Lancashire Archives ref. QSP/4637/57). His retirement was spent in Southport, where he died on 13 August 1914. The choir stall nearest the pulpit at Holy Trinity is retained as a memorial to him.
**Born at Carmarthen in 1861, Holy Trinity's third Rector, William Williams, married Mary Hannah Davies at Liverpool in 1886 and occurs at Upholland in 1891 and at Broad Oak Cottage (next to Winwick Rectory) in 1901. He was Rector at Holy Trinity from 1902 until 1933, and died at Leamington Spa in 1937.
***W C Ralph was born in London in 1848. In 1864 he was articled to Edward Graham Paley and retained as an assistant to the Lancaster firm Paley & Austin until 1875 when he became assistant to John Douglas of Chester. He set up a practice at Wigan in 1890, and in 1892 entered into partnership with George Heaton. The Heaton-Ralph partnership was responsible for many of the more prestigious buildings that can still be seen in Wigan town centre and the wider Metropolitan Borough. Ralph was elected Fellow of the RIBA on 19 January 1903. Following the death of George Heaton in 1910 he took his son, Ernest Wyatt Ralph, into partnership. Ralph senior died on 10 July 1913, leaving E W Ralph to see the work at Holy Trinity through to completion.
Sissinghurst is now best know as a horticultural desination for the fabulous gardens at the castle.
The village is less visited, and the church is small and easily missed.
It is mostly 19th century, though with 20th century reordering and some fine glass.
We found the glass the best part of the church, it is small and simple and we found it open.
Sissinghurst seemed to have been a chapel of ease of Tenterden, so not much parish history to tell.
-------------------------------------------
A (just) pre-ecclesiological church dating from 1838 to replace a small late-medieval place of worship known as `Milkhouse Street Chapel` in the parish of Cranbrook that had closed in the sixteenth century. Its nineteenth century founders were more or less told where to erect the new church. The architect was J Jennings of Hawkhurst and the church cost about £2,000. It was a simple rectangle for auditory worship. In 1893 a chancel was added to make it more acceptable to the ecclesiologists. In the 1990s further alterations were made to create a friendly and more convenient church. By the chancel steps is a medieval carved font reputed to have come from the old chapel, but by far the best furnishings are the stained glass windows. The 3 light East window is by Horace Wilkinson and depicts Archangels Michael and Gabriel. In the north wall is a pedestrian window depicting St Nicholas (1947) by J E Nuttgens - it being overshadowed in terms of dramatic effect by the easternmost window. This depicts St Cecilia, and is designed with lots of purple streaky glass by Leonard Walker (1877-1964).
Holy Trinity
The long coastal strip that runs northwards from Suffolk into Norfolk is perhaps not the most enticing part of East Anglia, unless you are looking for a jolly seaside holiday, and there'd be nothing wrong with that of course. But by the time you get to the old centre of Caister-on-Sea things have calmed down a bit, and there is a sense of a more parochial way of life, of local people going about their daily business. In the middle of this is Holy Trinity, set in a gorgeous churchyard that was alive with alkanet and borage on the day I visited in late spring 2023. Caister is an ancient place. Its castle was home to Sir John Fastolf, hero of the Wars of the Roses, his character notoriously defamed by Shakespeare. But to anyone from outside of Norfolk the town might most immediately associated with its lifeboat.
Few and far between can be the working class homes in the first half of the 20th Century which did not proudly display a souvenir of the Caister Lifeboat. Perhaps it was because the early years of that century saw the birth of mass circulation newspapers that it threw up popular heroes, most notably perhaps Captain Scott and Edith Cavell, but also the nine men of the Caister lifeboat Beauchamp who lost their lives answering a call on 19th November 1901, the night of what became known as the Great Storm. Five of them were from the same family, an appalling thought. Their memorial stands to the north-east of the church across the Ormesby road in the old cemetery. Instantly recognisable from a thousand early 20th Century reproductions, it consists of a broken pillar bedecked with nets, lifebuoys, chains and other equipment, all intricately carved in stone. In front, and long since vandalised, is a little pillar with a slot in the top, so that people coming to look at it might make a contribution to the RNLI, as if this was just another seaside attraction. Which, in a real and intended way, it was.
The church they knew had been substantially restored and even partly rebuilt barely seven years before the disaster, a date so late in the 19th Century that it is surprising it was so unsympathetic. Bearing this in mind, this was essentially a late 13th and early 14th Century church, probably complete before the pestilences of the second half of that century reached East Anglia, carrying off half the population. Simon Cotton notes that the 1330 contract for the nave roof survives, but it has been entirely replaced since. The south aisle was there by then, but on stepping inside you see that the arcade that separates it from the nave is entirely 19th Century. In fact, the main thing you'll see as you step inside is Caister's remarkable font. It is the largest medieval font in East Anglia, and it must be one of the largest in England. It stands fully five feet high even without a pedestal, and requires a set of steps to use it. There's a story that it was found in a garden in Eye, Suffolk, and brought here as part of the 19th Century restoration. This may be so, and it may even have been originally set in the great church at Eye, where the font is now a 19th Century replacement. If so, I expect the 'found in a garden' part of the story may be a romantic fiction, and it was simply discarded during the 19th Century restoration at Eye. It is certainly impressive, wherever it came from.
Also impressive is the east window. It is by Paul Woodroffe, a pupil of Christopher Whall, and depicts the fisherman disciples meeting Christ on the shore. It remembers those lost in the 1901 lifeboat disaster, and the inscription along the bottom reads to the Glory of God and in memory of nine brave men. November 14th 1901. In truth, the crew were doomed as soon as they left the shore. It was an appalling night. At the inquest into the disaster, James Haylett, who was on watch that night and lost three members of his family, said they would never give up the ship. If they had to keep at it 'til now, they would have sailed about until daylight to help her. Going back is against the rules when we see distress signals like that. The popular newspapers of the day reported this as 'Caister Men never turn back', and Never Turn Back became the slogan of the Royal National Lifeboat Institute.
Internally the nave feels square, and the roof is low without a clerestory. The view into the chancel is dominated by two sets of organ pipes, facing each other across the chancel. It looks as if they are leaning towards each other, whispering. At the east of the south aisle is a simple and lovely Blessed Sacrament chapel, because like most churches in this area Caister was long in the Anglo-Catholic tradition, and still retains its stations of the cross around the walls. The glass above this side altar is the 1930s work of Alfred Wilkinson, depicting Christ as the Good Shepherd.
Holy Trinity is not short of painted wood. there are two large 18th Century commandment boards at the west end depicting Moses and Aaron, and what appears to be a hatchment turns out to be a curiously poised set royal arms within a lozenge. they are dated 1786 and charged with the arms of the House of Hanover, but the motto reads Exurgat Deus Dissipentur Inimici, 'Rise up o God and scatter my enemies'. The G of G R is clearly a repurposed C, and so these must originally have been the arms of Charles I, and possibly even those of his father James I before him, whose motto this was. Another painted board on the north wall depicts a coat of arms and the legend these were his armes who of his store, gave to this towne to feed the poore, a charming detail.
Simon Knott, July 2023
Sissinghurst is now best know as a horticultural desination for the fabulous gardens at the castle.
The village is less visited, and the church is small and easily missed.
It is mostly 19th century, though with 20th century reordering and some fine glass.
We found the glass the best part of the church, it is small and simple and we found it open.
Sissinghurst seemed to have been a chapel of ease of Tenterden, so not much parish history to tell.
-------------------------------------------
A (just) pre-ecclesiological church dating from 1838 to replace a small late-medieval place of worship known as `Milkhouse Street Chapel` in the parish of Cranbrook that had closed in the sixteenth century. Its nineteenth century founders were more or less told where to erect the new church. The architect was J Jennings of Hawkhurst and the church cost about £2,000. It was a simple rectangle for auditory worship. In 1893 a chancel was added to make it more acceptable to the ecclesiologists. In the 1990s further alterations were made to create a friendly and more convenient church. By the chancel steps is a medieval carved font reputed to have come from the old chapel, but by far the best furnishings are the stained glass windows. The 3 light East window is by Horace Wilkinson and depicts Archangels Michael and Gabriel. In the north wall is a pedestrian window depicting St Nicholas (1947) by J E Nuttgens - it being overshadowed in terms of dramatic effect by the easternmost window. This depicts St Cecilia, and is designed with lots of purple streaky glass by Leonard Walker (1877-1964).