The History of Hursley Church
The church in Hursley is the vision of John Keble
History records a Saxon Manor in about 500 AD at Merdon near Hursley. It was granted to the Bishops of Winchester by Kinegylis, king of the West Saxons, on his conversion to Christianity in 636, but came under the control of the Normans in about 1068. The manor remained the property of the church until the reign of Edward VI. In 1138 Henry de Blois, Bishop of Winchester, built Merdon Castle, the ruins of which stand inside an iron age hill fort. The castle was followed by a hunting lodge in 1413. The manor was surrendered to Edward VI who granted it to Sir Philip Hoby in 1552 who built a house in Hursley Park and whose brother, William, inherited the manor in 1558.
The Manor passed through several hands between 1600 and 1638/9, when it was purchased by Richard Maijor whose eldest daughter married Richard Cromwell, the eldest son of Oliver Cromwell, and Lord Protector 1658-1659. Richard’s family lived at Hursley until 1718 when the estate was purchased by William Heathcote whose family lived there until 1888. It was then sold to Joseph Baxendale and then to Sir George Cooper in 1902. The estate has changed hands several times since then, and the house and immediate surrounding land is now occupied by IBM.
The parish of Hursley lies in the hundred of Buddlesgate in the division of Fawley, and was enclosed in 1809.
There have been at least three churches on the site; the earliest is believed to have been a Saxon building from about 1250 or before. There are traces of Norman mouldings built into the stonework of the 14th century tower, indicating that there had been an earlier building on this site.
The living of Hursley was originally a rectory. In the year 1300 the great tithes were taken to support St Elizabeth’s College, Winchester, and so the living became a vicarage in 1348. To compensate for the loss of revenue, the parish of Otterbourne was joined with Hursley but became a separate parish again in 1875. For many years until 1840, Hursley church was a ‘Peculiar’, that is, exempt from the control of the diocese in which it lies. The patronage is now held by a local landowner.
The first recorded incumbent was John de Raleghe who was rector c 1250 – 1279. Between 1280 and 1302, perpetual vicars were appointed in addition to a rector who was required to pay them 40 shillings per year. These were Johannes de St Fide (1280), Henricus de Lyskeret (1300) and Roger de la Vere (1302). After John Hardy was dispossessed in about 1644, Richard Maijor undertook to provide ministers for the church but, not being of a generous nature with his payments, there were several ‘puritan intruders’. One of these ‘intruders’ was Walter Marshall who became vicar in 1656 but due to the Act of Uniformity of 1662 he was ejected from the parish. Several ministers died in office and were buried at Hursley, including Robert Maunder in the chancel (1673), William White in the nave (1780), and John Keble and his wife in the churchyard (both died 1866).
The list of incumbents is painted on two boards on the west wall of the south aisle
John Keble (1792-1866), was born at Fairford, Gloucestershire. As a student at Oxford University he became acquainted with William Heathcote (later Sir William Heathcote, 5th Baronet), who offered him the curacy of Hursley in 1825, which he held for a year before returning to his father’s parish of Coln St Aldwyns near Fairford as curate. On his father’s death in 1835, he was appointed to the living of the vicar of Hursley parish, where he remained until his death. In 1836 he married Charlotte Clarke at Bisley parish church. There were no children.
He became well-known for his sermon at Oxford on Assize Sunday 1833 on the abandonment of religious faith, views and principles, and excessive Liberalism, which led to the formation of the Oxford Movement, which developed into the High Anglican branch of the Church of England.
He was one of the leaders of the Oxford Movement which brought about a revolution in church building and decoration, which in turn brought about a revival in the art of stained-glass manufacture.
Prior to 1752, the church at Hursley had become decayed and ruinous. It was very dark inside and extremely low as the ground outside, due to the numerous burials, had risen nearly level with the window sills so that six or eight steps were required to descend into the church. It was therefore rebuilt in 1752/53 by Sir Thomas Heathcote, 2nd baronet, as a new, part-Dutch, part Palladian building, approximately on the foundations of the earlier church, but retaining the 14th century tower. This church was built in red brick with stone quoins; the overall dimensions of which were 82 feet long and 49 feet wide. Inside it had an arched ceiling, rather low, supported on pillars, with a nave and two aisles.
The windows were large with semi-circular heads, clear glass and fitted with blinds to keep out the strong sunlight. The tower clock in 1808 was described as “the work of an ingenious mechanic of the village”. Inside there were the usual tall square or oblong box pews of the period. The Heathcote household occupied the pews at the east end of the north aisle. The vicarage pew was in the chancel with a solid partition dividing it from the nave so that the occupants could neither see nor hear distinctly. The remaining pews were numbered and allocated to individuals and tenant farmers for use by their families and their workers, so that the rich and noble people sat at the front of the church and the less important at the back. It is recorded that, in 1820, a reallocation of seats was made between Sir Thomas Freeman-Heathcote and Joseph White of Ampfield.
Keble was unhappy with the 18th century church building at Hursley, with its overtones of Cromwell and Puritanism, and was anxious to provide a more worthy building for divine worship, with the emphasis on the altar and the sacraments, rather than the pulpit. He therefore re-built the church in its present form in 1847/48.
The architect was J P Harrison (1817 – 1902) of the Oxford Architectural Society who was a follower of the architect, A W N Pugin (1812 – 1852), hence the Victorian Gothic revival style. The cost was £6,000, excluding the windows and furnishings, paid for from the proceeds of Keble’s writings, The Christian Year and Lyra Innocentium. The foundation stone was laid on 20 May 1847, the exact place of which is not known. It bore a Latin inscription translated as:
“In honour of God Almighty, Father, Son, Holy Spirit, and in pious memory of All Saints, this corner stone was made. The church having been built in the octave of the feast of the Ascension AD 1847”.
The church was re-consecrated on 24 October 1848 and dedicated to All Saints. The day was for many years celebrated by a church service and a school holiday.
The church was extensively restored in 1910 when the rotten raised wood floors of the side aisles were replaced by the present floor tiles and hopper windows were fitted for better ventilation. Electric light was installed in 1938 and electric heating in 1960, which was replaced by gas central heating in 2005.
The perpendicular style 14th century tower was again retained in the present church, but made higher in the decorated style, and the upper windows enlarged. A spire was added, the cost being met by Sir William Heathcote, 5th baronet, but it became unsafe and was removed in 1960 at the cost of Sir George Cooper. The tower clock is the work of John Moore & Son of Clerkenwell, London, dated 1855. There is some 18th century graffiti around the West doorway.
A mass dial can be seen high on the South face of the tower, which indicated the time by the position of the shadow from a central rod on radiating grooved lines, the hour for the mass shown by a deeper groove. It may not be in its original position.
The walls of the previous church were sound so needed only to be re-faced with Burbage stone. The architectural style of the rebuilt part is decorated, whilst the older west window and west door are perpendicular. The present church has a nave, and north and south aisles under separate roofs, enabling the addition of roof dormers which are unnoticed from the outside. The north aisle was extended into line with the east wall of the chancel to provide a small vestry which was later extended into the north aisle.
Interior:
The interior layout is based closely on Neale’s and Webb’s 1843 edition of Durandus ‘On the Symbolism of Churches and Church Ornaments’.
On the front step into the chancel decorative tiles read: “Blessed are they that do his commandments that they may have right to the tree of life and enter in through the gates into the city”. On the step by the altar rail is: “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled”. On the next step is: “Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted; Blessed are the pure in heart: for they will see God”. On the final step is: “Thine eyes shall see the King in his beauty; They shall behold the land that is very far off”.
On the chancel arch the corbels are the heads of St Peter and St Paul, as exponents of the inner mysteries. By the east window are St Athanasius and St Augustine, as champions of the faith.
The corbels on the inside of the north porch are the heads of Bishop Wykeham and Bishop Wayneflete (early bishops of Winchester), and on the outside are those of Bishop Andrews (an early bishop of Winchester who oversaw the translation of the King James Version of the Bible) and Bishop Ken (a prolific hymn writer). Inside the south porch, the corbels are the heads of St Augustine of Canterbury (the first archbishop of Canterbury) and Helena (an Empress of the Roman Empire and mother of Emperor Constantine the Great, who is traditionally held to have discovered the true cross). On the outside of the south porch are the heads of Queen Victoria and Bishop Sumner to mark the date of the building.
The angels with shields, carved in oak, forming the corbels of the roof, are a reminder of the words on ‘Carved Angels’ in Keble’s Lyra Innocentium:
“Haply some shield their arms embrace
Rich with the Lord’s own blazonry
The cross of His redeeming grace
Or his dread wounds, we there descry.
His standard-bearers they:
Learn we to face them on the dread procession day”.
The Furniture:
During the early years of Keble’s ministry in the old church, the pews on the south side were occupied by men, and those to the north by women, in accordance with the first Prayer Book of Edward VI. Later, public attitudes changed, caused in some part by the effect of the French revolution, which led to the uprising in importance of the lower class and the decreasing importance of the upper classes. As a result, the pews in the present church were free to use, and were not restricted, so that people could sit where they liked.
The design of the pews in the present church was suggested by the architect, J P Harrison, and were, at Keble’s request, made to slope as did the chancel stalls so that they would resemble prayer desks. All the pews are solid moveable oak benches and all originally had wooden boards for kneeling on, covered with padded leather, and the embroidered kneelers were made by a group of parishioners many years later. Some of the pews still have iron rods fixed under the seats for holding men’s hats. There is a tablet fixed to the choir stalls commemorating the rearrangement of the stalls in memory of Rear Admiral Francis Durrant CMG in 1906 by his wife.
The Bishop’s chair was made by James Laverty of Winchester in 1939 from oak obtained from the Hursley estate at a cost of £46.12s.0d; on the back of which is a crest with a mitre on top, and crossed keys and a sword on a shield-shape (for Saints Peter and Paul). The clergy seats in the Sanctuary were carved in about 1896; across the back are the words “Just and true are thy ways King of Saints” (Revelation 15:3), and underneath are the symbols a swan (for purity and grace and the love of God), an angel, a lamb with a flag (a symbol of the resurrection), another angel, and a ship (the church); and underneath are a six pointed star made of two overlapping triangles (the star of David), a bearded figure with a book (St Matthew); a lion (St Mark), an ox (St Luke), an eagle with a book (St John the Evangelist), and a portcullis (protection).
The Sedilia in the Sanctuary was carved in about 1896 by Miss H M Heathcote, who also carved the Credence Table in 1903 which was given by the Guild of All Saints in memory of Mrs Young.
The carved wood screen in the north aisle was made by Alfred Targett, a local carpenter, in 1899, designed by Miss H M Heathcote and carved by her and a number of local amateurs. Originally this screen was some nine feet back screening the original vestry.
The bookcase in the north aisle was given to John Keble and his successors by the Misses Marsh, daughters of the Rev. John Marsh, a previous curate of the church who had written a history of Hursley and was buried in the floor of the vestry.
The brass processional cross was given by the Rev. J R Husband in 1927 to commemorate the centenary of the first publication of Keble’s The Christian Year.
The oak Alms Dish by Thompson of Kilburn ‘Mouseman’, was given by Stan Rawdon on All Saints’ Day 1986.
The font was given by the Rev. William Butler and his wife, and the clergy and Sisters of Wantage. Some years after the church was dedicated, a clergyman visited the church and took measurements of the font, and in 1850 the handsome canopy arrived. Years later it was learned that the unknown donor was Dr Edward Bouverie Pusey.
Several other pieces of furniture and other items in the church were donated by or in memory of various parishioners.
The Windows:
“The glass windows in a church are Holy Scriptures, which expel the wind and the rain,
that is all things hurtful, but transmit the light of the True Sun, that is God,
into the hearts of the faithful”.
William Durandus (c 1220-1296) from “The Symbolism of Churches and Church Ornaments”.
The windows at Hursley are typical of their time, and are a reflection of the changes effected by the Oxford Movement. They were made and installed a few years after the church was built, and were completed in 1858 with the West window. Many 19th century designers attempted to recreate or replace medieval glass in effecting church restorations, but the previous church at Hursley had had clear glass in the windows, so there was no medieval glass for Keble to re-use. Accordingly, instead of creating a pastiche of old glass, new designs were used.
They were designed to Keble’s plan, modelled on that of the medieval windows at Fairford, Gloucestershire, from the Garden of Eden, through the Prophets and other Old Testament characters, the life of Christ, the Apostles and Saints, to the Judgement Window. However, as Fairford Church has more windows than Hursley, that plan could not be exactly followed. According to Keble’s sister, Elisabeth, “The Hursley windows are meant to be a course of instruction in Sacred History from Adam to the last day, the church being dedicated to All Saints”.
Although the Fairford windows receive almost universal acclaim and astonishment, the windows at Hursley arouse mixed opinions. Some consider that the Hursley windows “are an excellent example of early Victorian stained glass”, whereas others regard them “as lurid as a row of jars in a candy shop”. Charlotte Yonge’s view was that “though the colours are deeper, and what is now called more crude, than suits the taste of the present day, they must be looked upon with reverence as the outcome of [Keble’s] meditations and his great delight”.
The scheme was prepared by William Butterfield (1814-1900), the designs were suggested by the artists William Dyce (1806 – 1864) and Anthony Vandyke Copley Fielding (1787 – 1855) and executed under Butterfield’s supervision by William Wailes (1808 – 1881). William Wailes (was seen as a Gothic Revival artist. Having trained with Franz Mayer & Co. of Munich, he established his own stained-glass business in 1838 which became one of the largest in England and was in great demand for use in new and restored churches of the period.
His work retained the style of stained glass produced in Germany and Limoges, being often a little paler and more brightly coloured than many English works. It tended to have distinctive colour combinations in the clothing of the figures (for example in the West window Christ’s red robe is lined with green), and he often used pink glass, which is noticeable in many windows at Hursley. His bright colours have been used throughout the windows at Hursley and, as commented by Charles Winston (1814 – 1864), an English historian of stained glass, dark interiors require more richly coloured glass than light interiors, and indeed Keble found that his new church was so dark that he later installed clerestory windows in the roof.
It was originally intended that the cost of the windows would have been raised from contributions of friends and readers of Keble’s writings but in the end only the four three-light windows and the Repentance window were given, two others were paid for by special offertories and the rest were finally given by Keble from his published writings.
Starting from the North West window:
Window 1 – Adam and Noah
ADAM with a spade for his job of cultivation and a bunch of grapes as a link to Christ as the True Vine. Below shows Adam and Eve being expelled from the Garden for having disobeyed God.
NOAH carrying the plans for the ark and a T-square. Below shows Noah and his family with some animals after the ark has landed, giving offerings to the Lord in thanks. There is a rainbow in the background.
At the top is an angel holding a flaming sword, as a symbol of authority and of the administration of justice.
Window 2 – Melchizedek and Abraham
MELCHIZEDEK was a Canaanite king and high priest in Jerusalem, holding vessels of bread and wine. He met and blessed Abraham and gave him food and wine, after Abraham rescued his own nephew Lot from raiders.
ABRAHAM, the father of the nation, carrying a large knife and lighted flare as he prepared to sacrifice his son, Isaac, at God’s behest. Having demonstrated his obedience, God provided a ram caught by its horns in a thicket instead.
At the top is SARAH, the wife of Abraham and mother of Isaac, who showed faithfulness and endurance.
Window 3 – Joseph and Job
JOSEPH is shown holding seven ears of wheat, representing his interpretation of the Pharaoh’s dream as being a sign of seven good harvests followed by seven years of famine.
JOB is covered in painful boils, one of the disasters which befell him, which he scraped with the piece of broken plate he carries. His banner reads: “Wherefore I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes”. His suffering and resilience were rewarded by God.
At the top is REBECCA, the wife of Abraham’s son, Isaac, and the mother of Esau and Jacob.
Window 4 – Samuel and Esdra
SAMUEL was a priest, prophet and military leader of the Israelites, who anointed Saul and then David as kings of the Israelites. His scroll reads: “Serve the Lord with all your heart”.
ESDRA or Ezra was a priest and religious leader of the Jews on their return from exile in Babylon and reinforced the Jewish law. He carries a quill and a book which reads: “Blessed be the Lord God of our fathers which hath put such a thing as this in the king’s heart to beautify the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem”.
At the top is a woman named MARIA, holding a small harp commonly associated with David.
Window 5 – Joshua and Elias
JOSHUA is dressed in armour and carries a sword and a spear. He was the successor to Moses as leader of the Israelites and was sent by God with his army to take the promised land. They took the city of Jericho when the walls fell down.
ELIAS or ELIJAH was a prophet and miracle worker who lived in the desert as a hermit and was fed by ravens. The local people worshipped Baal, but he proved that God was greater when He lit a fire when their god could not. His sash reads: “The Lord be God follow him”.
At the top is RUTH, the great-grandmother of David, holding an ear of corn to represent the crops she gleaned in the fields. She was devoted and loyal to Naomi in following the Lord.
Window 6 – David, Moses and Solomon
This three-light window represents the fixing and finishing of the old religion.
DAVID was king of Israel and Jordan, and wanted to build the Temple at Jerusalem. He carries a plan of a building which was later built by Solomon, his son. He carries a sceptre to signify royalty and authority, and a harp, as a musician and the traditional author of the psalms.
MOSES was a great leader of the Jews, and founder of their religion. He carries a stone tablet bearing the laws given to him by God on Mount Sinai. Below is the Ark, a wooden chest to hold the Tokens of the Covenant, and its associated items.
SOLOMON was David’s son and the third king of united Israel. He has a crown and a sceptre. He carries a model of the Temple which he built.
Below shows the altar of incense with symbols of faith.