Our church buildings have seen many changes over the decades, each change
enabling it to fulfil its role within the community, and we continue to
build on the past whilst living in the present and preparing for the future.
The Church of St Giles, Great Hallingbury
There
has been a church in Great Hallingbury since the 11th century. All that
clearly remains from this date is the magnificent Chancel arch made entirely
from Roman bricks and a small single late 11th century window light with
a round head of Roman bricks at the western end of the south wall in the
nave. The Chancel arch was lovingly restored when the whole church was
enlarged and underwent complete restoration by John Archer Houblon in 1874.
The tower at the west end of the nave dates from the 14th century whilst
the octagonal spire is a copy of a later addition destroyed by lightning
in 1738. A peal of five bells are hung in the belfry, the oldest one having
been cast in 1542, the others dating from the 18th and 19th centuries.
Prior
to the restoration in 1874 there was a Rood Loft, an unusual feature in
a small country church. The former entrance to this is represented by a
modern door in the left arch of the Chancel arch. From this Rood Loft there
also remains a Piscina which would have originally served the Rood Altar,
this can be seen in the right of the Arch and has a triangular head of
Roman brick and scalloped basin of Barnack stone. The photographs are of
the interior of the church showing the Norman archway made of Roman bricks,
the piscina mentioned above can be seen and a detail of the painted
east wall..
The
funeral helms on either side of the Arch probably date from the 16th century
and were originally above the Morley tomb in the north wall of the Nave.
The Morleys were Lords of the Manor from the early 14th century until the
mid 17th century when the titles fell into abeyance, there being no issue.
The family played a prominent part in English history one having
been Standard Bearer to Richard III and another playing a leading part
in the breaking up of the Gun Powder plot.
The rebuilding of the church in 1874 almost doubled its size with the
addition of the North Aisle and Porch. The Reredos was a copy of
that in Beverley Minster and John Archer Houblon and his wife travelled
there to see the original. The reredos was completed in 1889 and
the decoration on the East Wall surrounding it was commissioned in memory
of John's wife, Georgina.
The
Organ commissioned in 1874 was built by Foster and Andrew of Hull to the
design of Professor Oakley, then Professor of Music at Edinburgh. At the
Special Service to mark the re-opening of the church on 23rd December 1874
the organ was played by the professor's brother, a local resident. It is
an extremely fine specimen of a two manual with tracker action organ and
has survived over 100 years having given very little trouble.
These
two photos are of a tile representation of the post-resurrection Emmaus
meal which is to the left of the Lord's Table as one looks to the east
end of the church and of the main south window.
The Church of St Mary the Virgin, Little Hallingbury
It
is almost certain that the first church on the site of the present church
of St Mary the Virgin was a wooden one built by the Saxons between 1035
and 1050. Unusually the church is mentioned in the Domesday book compiled
in 1085.
The oldest existent parts of the church are the South Wall and part
of the West wall having been part of the Norman building built around 1090.
The South door has a Norman arch made from Roman brick from various Roman
Villas that were in area. The Chancel was a 13th century addtition to the
Norman building.
Worthy
of note is the 14th century porch by the South door. During the same century
the 3 light window in the south wall was added along with the single light
window at the western end of this same wall. A bell was also installed,
to "call the faithful to church". By 1712 there were an additional two
bells and it was felt necessary to build a new bell turret complete with
steeple and weathervane to house these. This was in almost the exact
form that can be seen today.
Another
area of interest is the small graveyard adjacent to St Mary's churchyard.
This belongs to the Governors of Charterhouse and since 1929 has been designated
as an area for the burial of all deceased brothers of Charterhouse if they
or their families so wish. The reason for this being here is St Mary's
connection with this society founded by Thomas Sutton, at that time "the
richest commoner in England". He purchased the manor of Little Hallingbury
in 1588. His intention was to found a school for boys and a hospital for
"poverty stricken gentlemen soldiers or merchants ruined by piracy or shipwreck
and who were good servants of the Queen". These were to have been situated
in Little Hallingbury but as a result of his wife dying he changed his
mind and instead they were established at Howard House in London. The manor
of Little Hallingbury, along with other properties belonging to him were
used to support these institutions later to be known as Charterhouse. The
Society of Charterhouse is the Patron of Little Hallingbury and since 1669
has had the right of appointing a Rector.
These are three of St.Mary's windows. The Risen Christ window is behind
the Lord's Table.
In
the 19th century it was felt necessary to enlarge the capacity of the church
because of an increased population. The North wall of the Nave and another
porch on the North side were removed and a new aisle built on the north
side of the church with a sloping roof. From plans only recently discovered,
these alterations also included the dismantling of two galleries which
were directly under the current bell turret. A new Chancel arch was created
with the addition of a small vestry to the south of the Chancel and a Norman
style font at the west end of the church. In 1885 a small organ was fitted
using part of the vestry. Much of the internal furniture dates from this
time.
Within
the last five years plans were made and have now been fulfilled for the
building of an extension to the then vestry. There is now a larger room
in which small groups can meet for worship or other events, in which there
is a small kitchen area for providing refreshments and in which there are
toilet facilities.
More
recently the floor has had to be replaced to find out more
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