Historic Churches 2019

BCD SPECIAL REPORT ON HISTORIC CHURCHES 26 TH ANNUAL EDITION 13 from the Padstow ’Obby ’Oss parade on May Day, well-dressing in Derbyshire, the Riding of the Bounds in Berwick-upon- Tweed, to the Kirkwall Ba’ and plenty of Morris dancing in between; these are local events, with participants passing on the traditions from generation to generation. In terms of traditional crafts and skills, then geographically specific skills include Maund making in Devon, or Kishie basket making in Orkney. Although there are physical outputs, it is the handing down of skills and techniques that form the intangible element. What might this intangible heritage look like in a church context and how might it be relevant in a statement of significance? One example of ‘social practices, rituals [or] festive events’ might be the parishes where the ancient ceremony of beating the bounds still takes place. Dating in pre-Norman times, this ceremony usually took place around Rogation week or on Ascension Day. The parish priest, together with the churchwardens and the parochial officials headed a crowd of boys who, armed with boughs of willow or birch, beat the parish boundary markers. On the way, the parish priest prays for the protection of the parish and the whole group sing hymns specific to the occasion. In some places, such as Bodmin, the event is tied to other local customs. This is the realm of the ‘familiar and cherished local scene’, rather than the nationally or internationally significant place, but such customs are a clear example of where intangible heritage (custom and tradition) increases our understanding of why a place is valued by its community. A more ubiquitous example is bell- ringing. The practice of ringing a set of church bells sequentially, known as change ringing, originated in the early 17th century following the invention of English full-circle tower bell ringing. The skills required for this, and particularly for the Devon method of call change ringing, are excellent examples of intangible heritage, as is the sound of the bells itself. Boards commemorating the ringing of particular peals, or of laws governing the conduct of bell-ringers (illustrated page 12, top left), are a further piece in the puzzle, linking to past events. The value of the intangible heritage associated with bell ringing should be seen as being entirely separate from the values attached to the physical fabric of the bells, which may be significant on account of their age, size or form, or as examples of the work of a particular foundry or founder, or for other historical reasons. Part of the significance of the bells of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, for example, lies in the fact that they were moved from Osney Abbey when the see was transferred to Oxford. Clearly, a church building and its components may have associations with notable people or events; however, where the people or events are more on the local scale, rather than the national, understanding their story can be instrumental in understanding the significance of that building. For example, a Methodist chapel may contain relatively little in terms of features, either architecturally or in terms of fixtures and fittings. However, the events that led up to the founding of the chapel; the people who made donations towards its building, the story of the congregation, and the stories of current members of the congregation can, gathered together, provide a clear picture of a place’s significance beyond the fabric. Sometimes, the tangible and intangible heritage may be blended. For example, St Cuthbert’s, Philbeach Gardens, is a superb example of an Arts and Crafts movement church (illustrated page 12, top right). However, unlike Arts and Crafts churches such as Holy Trinity, Sloane Square, which employed the leading craftsmen of the day to carry out the interior decoration, much of the interior decoration at St Cuthbert’s was undertaken by craft guilds formed by parishioners in which women played a leading role, including carving in stone and wood, mosaic work and embroidery. This is well documented in an archive of over 200 photographs of the church and the hall, which includes pictures of the guildsmen and women (illustrated below). So the significance of the tangible heritage is greatly enhanced by our knowledge of the intangible elements – the social history, the ‘who’ and the ‘why’. In the case of some churches, an already significant building may develop an extra level of significance through a change in use, or congregation. The Cathedral of St Alphonsa, Preston, is an interesting example of this as it was originally a Jesuit foundation dedicated to St Ignatius (illustrated page 11 and 14). Preston was a recusant stronghold from the Reformation onwards (the town’s name is derived from ‘priest town’), and its Catholic population grew as the 19th century progressed. St Ignatius’ was built in 1833, just five years after the Catholic Emancipation Act of 1829, to the design of Joseph John Scoles, with principal additions by Hansom in 1858. It is a good example of early Gothic Revival architecture and it was the first church in Preston with a spire. It contains many fine fixtures and fittings; it is set within a square of modest but pleasing late Georgian houses and the poet Gerard Manley Hopkins was a curate here in the 1880s. The church was closed in 2014 only to reopen two years later when it was rededicated as the Cathedral of St Alphonsa, the seat of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Great Britain, the first such cathedral in Europe. Clearly, the building is important on multiple counts, demonstrating significance in terms of both tangible heritage (the style of the building, its setting, original fixtures etc) and intangible heritage (the social history of Preston, the particular time when St Ignatius’ was built, the association with Gerard Manley Hopkins, the changing demographic landscape that led to The Guild of St Peter which decorated the interior of St Cuthbert’s Church was led largely by female parishioners, an interesting piece of knowledge that helps us to interpret the church’s tangible heritage (Photo: St Cuthbert’s archive)