St Andrew’s
At the end of the 19th century it was felt that the old church of St Bartholomew’s on Chosen Hill, inaccessible as it was in bad weather and difficult to access for the elderly or infirm, could no longer adequately serve the needs of the parish’s growing population. On St Andrew’s Day in 1901, the decision was therefore taken to build a new church, which would be a Chapel of Ease, with St Bartholomew’s still remaining, at least for some time to come, the parish church.
The site chosen was the north-west corner of the Chapel Hay field near where a small chapel had perhaps once existed. The Churchdown Land Company, who owned the field, made a gift to the parish of the site for the new church. Initial, and subsequent, fundraising and donations enabled the project to go ahead and the design of the architect WB Wood was selected from six competing entries; the building was to be traditional in style and simple in proportion consisting of nave, central and side aisles, baptistry and chancel with raised sacristy.
It was envisaged that extensions might be built later as needed. AJ Dolman of Gloucester were awarded the building contract and the first sod was cut in 1903. On 15th July in that same year the Foundation Stone was laid by Sir John Dorington, Bart., the local Member of Parliament. Construction was completed in 1904 and the Dedication Service was held on 25th April with the Consecration Ceremony, conducted by the Rt Revd. KC Sumner Gibson, Bishop of Gloucester, taking place on 29th November, 1905.
Many of the furnishings were gifts by members of the parish, the sanctuary rails, for instance, being given by the schoolchildren of the parish and the chairs donated individually by the village people at a cost of three shillings each, old currency. (In recent years, after long usage the seating has needed replacement.)
The sanctuary chair, carved and given by a lady who lived locally, is a facsimile of the Abbot’s State Chair in the Bishop’s Palace, Wells. St. Andrew’s is very fortunate in having an ancient font which is 15th century and was given to the church by the Rector and churchwardens of Witcombe.
Sanctuary Chair and Font
The communion table was constructed by a local craftsman and presented by his son; it incorporates, as does the communion table at St Bartholomew’s, oak panels from the old church. The mural paintings behind the protective curtains at the back of the table were painted in remembrance of the vicar’s wife who died in 1905.
Aethelflaed, Bishop Hooper, William and Osric
Over the years St Andrew’s has been greatly enriched by furnishings and features donated by local people in memory of members of their families and the North Porch, dedicated in 1965, (it has inner glass doors engraved by EM Dinkel) and all the stained glass windows are such gifts.
The east window, depicting the call of St Andrew, was installed in memory of two young men killed in the First World War, and the lancet windows in the chancel and the three coloured nave windows all illustrate people and incidents from Churchdown’s past.
The lancet in the north wall portrays St Oswald and it was the canons from St Oswald’s Priory in Gloucester who served the parish in the office of priest during the Middle Ages.
Opposite him is Aethelflaed, Lady of the Mercians and by local tradition owner of the Barony of Churchdown in Saxon times.
The 7th-century king, Osric, who ruled the territory of which Churchdown was part and who established the first monastery in Gloucester, is shown in the south nave window. In the north nave wall opposite, a local man, William, is seen being rescued from the collapsed trench in which he had become buried; those saving him were directed through prayers offered to the recently-martyred Archbishop Thomas of Canterbury.
Further to the east is the Hooper Window illustrating the death by burning of the Bishop and the seizure of the church valuables during the Reformation.
These three nave windows are the work of the late ER Payne, a well-known stained glass artist. There are insets of Art Nouveau’ glass in the remaining windows.
St. Andrew’s is now the parish church of what is designated the Parish of St Andrew and St Bartholomew, Churchdown.
The History and Guide to the two churches and The Story of Churchdown (ISBN 0904586049), by Gwen Waters provide further reading.
St Bartholomew’s
St Bartholomew’s
The ancient church of St Bartholomew, Churchdown, was originally the parish church of the villages of Churchdown and Hucclecote, and the central point of a barony belonging to the Archbishops of York. It stands on Chosen Hill which is more than 511ft above sea level and is isolated from the villages below it. The church is positioned on a mound, at least partly man-made, within the enclosing banks of an Iron Age Camp. It has been almost certainly a site of ritual or military significance over a very long period of time, dating perhaps from the Bronze Age or even earlier.
The present church is Norman in foundation, with the nave being the main surviving part from this era. Roger du Pont L’Eveque, Archbishop of York from 1154 to 1181, is thought to have been the builder in about 1175 AD. Archbishop Roger was contemporary with Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, and there was much rivalry between these two primates. Therefore, it has been suggested that Roger erected his church on such a prominent spot in Canterbury’s southern province as an act of defiance.
The church was extended in the 13th century by the addition of the south aisle, the south wall of the nave being opened up by an arcade of piers in the Transitional style (and, surprisingly, one has a millstone as its base.) The Early English south doorway has an arch of Norman chevrons and sculptured heads on the inner face and this may have been removed from an arch in the original building.
Possibly the most interesting feature of the church is the Early English north porch and the room above it which is reached by narrow stairs in the north nave wall.
It is thought that the canons of St Oswald’s Priory in Gloucester— who served the parish in the office of priest— lodged in this upper room as it has a fireplace and is furnished with cupboards. In the entrance porch below are stone benches and a number of examples of medieval graffiti including a spouting whale (considered a symbol of resurrection) a haloed head, possibly of Christ, and a crude figure of a mermaid. Masons’ marks and votive crosses are also scratched on the wall surfaces. There is a holy water stoup in the inner nave wall by the porch door.
The font is 14th century and stands on stone blocks which may have come from the Norman building. The chancel, extensively restored in the nineteenth century, is late mediaeval.
Some fragments of ancient sculptured stone, possibly Saxon, have been built into the north wall and the Tudor south window possibly replaces an earlier opening.
The glass in the Perpendicular east window was given in 1890 as was that in the south window.
The altar contains some of the Jacobean woodwork, preserved during the restoration work undertaken in 1880. It is thought to have been part of panelling originally in the tower. This was built in 1601 and houses a peal of six bells, the heaviest being the tenor (11 cwt. 2 qr.)
The carved oak pulpit, with sounding board above, is also a fine example of Jacobean craftsmanship and is inscribed with the date ‘1631’.
The minstrels’ gallery which once existed across the west end of the church was removed in the nineteenth century during the course of the extensive restoration project and when this had been completed the church interior would have looked much as it does today except for where new seating has been provided.
In 1953, a local business man provided for an illuminated cross to be erected on the tower to mark the Coronation celebrations and this proved so popular that a permanent cross was donated as a family gift in 1976. When this needed replacement in 1988 the present cross was given anonymously as a personal memorial.
St Bartholomew’s Bells
For nearly 400 years bells have sounded out across Churchdown from the church of St Bartholomew’s. In the intervening years some additions and changes have taken place to the bell installation.
Difficulties were experienced with the existing ring of bells and in 2015 three of the existing bells were recast, and more bell metal added, to form a new ring of bells. At the time the bell ringing appeal attracted much local media interest. In the clip below Radio Gloucester interviewed experienced ringer, Dave Turner, about the project.
One bell, now the second of the new ring, was retained and used in the new configuration. This bell was cast in 1933, at that time it was the treble (lightest bell) of the six bells installed. Two bells were considered to be pre-reformation and of historical importance, these are stored in the Lady Chapel at St Bartholomew’s for all to see.
To the right of the tower entrance a brass plaque records the bells in their 1933 condition. To complement this, a new plaque has been mounted on the left of the tower entrance to record the new bell inscriptions, at their 2015 installation.
