west end, and porch on the south side. The
style of architecture throughout is the
Decorated, second period, and in several
parts of the church there is some very fine
work. The north and south aisles are
divided from the nave by arcades on four
pointed arches, carried on octagonal
pillars, and the nave and chancel are
divided by a large and well-proportioned
arch. Before the restoration commenced
the woodwork in the chancel came below
the top of this arch, and completely robbed
it of its beautiful original appearance. The
chancel, however, has been raised some
three or four feet, and now the arch stands
out in its beauty without any such
disfigurement. In the east wall of the north
aisle there is a staircase leading to what
was a rood screen loft, but before the work
of renovation began no screen was visible
at the entrance to the chancel. When,
however, the old “box” pews were
removed some portions of the old screen
were found, and these were valuable,
because they enabled the architects to
reproduce in the new screen the beautiful
design of the old one. The new screen is
in oak, and the work connected with it,
especially the carving, has been very
admirably executed by Mr Holland,
builder of Eardisland. The pews in the
body of the church and in the chancel are
in oak, and these, together with
communion table (which is on a marble
base) and the pulpit have been simply but
handsomely made. In the panels of the
pews some of the old oak has been used.
The oak panels in the front pews are
covered with very fine old carving, several
of the figures being those of dragons and
other creatures of that mild and amiable
family. On the panels in the pews which
abut on the cross aisle Mr Holland has put
Extract from The Times
Saturday 18 June 1870
The restoration of St Mary’s Church,
Almeley
The Re-opening Services
We have the pleasure this week of adding
to the long list of restored churches in this
diocese the beautiful church of St Mary, at
Almeley, which, during the last 18 months,
has been undergoing a thorough
restoration. Other old and dilapidated
churches in the county are now being
renovated, and will have to be put on this
long and glorious list, a list which
represents an amount of Christian labour
and benevolence which cannot easily be
estimated; and it is to be hoped that before
long the “top stone” will be placed with a
shout upon the great church restoration
movement. This however, cannot be so
long as there is one parish in this diocese
in which the church edifice lies in a
ruinous state, and is not comely and
beautiful.
St Mary’s Church is one of the handsomest
in the county, and we congratulate the
parish upon the satisfactory condition in
which it has been placed. A parishioner
returning after a long absence would see
with surprise the altered aspect of his
parish church, and its beautiful appearance
would fill him with pleasure. That there
was need for the work to be done was only
too evident. It is true that some portions of
the edifice seemed in a tolerable condition,
but upon a closer inspection of the fabric
this proved to be more apparent than real.
The church consists of nave, north and
south aisles, chancel, vestry, tower at the
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some very good new drapery carving.
Before the restoration a large portion of
the walls on the interior was covered with
plaster. This has been removed, and the
walls, pillars, etc have been cleaned down
and repointed. This gives a decidedly
improved appearance to the interior.
aisle, opposite to it there is a similar
window with stained glass in the tracery
representing different coats of arms. In the
tracery in the windows in the east walls of
the south and north aisles there are stained
glass representations of the Virgin Mary
and child, and of the Crucifixion, the last
being a splendid piece of work. The new
font stands in the cross aisle.
The old oak roof of the chancel has been
cleaned and opened out, and plastered and
coloured between. New quarters were put
diagonally on the back of the old oak
principals, and new lathing and tiles have
been put on. The roof in the nave has also
been cleaned and stripped, and retiled, and
new timber has been put in the roofs, in the
north and south aisles, with the exception
of some of the panels, for which some of
the good oak in the old pews was used,
after a new dress had been given to it. The
walls in the clerestory, and the west wall
(in which there is an entrance to the tower)
are plastered to the lines of the arches and
the windows. On either side of the
clerestory there are three two-light
windows. In the east end of the chancel
there is a magnificent four-light stainedglass window. The tracery is filled with
stained glass with figureheads of angels,
etc. The four lights are filled in with
figures of St Boniface, St Cuthbert, St
Thomas of Hereford, St Augustine, St
Maria, St Anna, St Gabriel, and St Maria
and child. There are four grounds in
imitation of pavement, and perpendicular
pillars, all in ornamental painting in the
old style. The colouring is exceedingly
rich. The window has been put in by
Messrs Burlison and Gryffe of Oxford. In
the south aisle there is a fine four-light old
window, in the tracery of which there is
stained glass on which are represented the
emblems of the crucifixion. In the north
The floor of the church has been lowered.
The flooring in the body of the church is
paved with flagstone, but the flooring of
the chancel is laid with encaustic tiles from
Mr Godwin’s manufactory at Lugwardine,
and the steps near the communion table are
laid with marble. The altar is covered with
a very rich altar-cloth and a very
elaborately and beautifully worked cloth in
crimson and gold and other colours is
placed on either side of the magnificent
east window, and behind the holy table
instead of a reredos. The other furniture of
the altar is ......... and the appearance of the
tout ensemble is very striking, the effect
being greatly heightened by the shady light
which is shed through the rich colours in
the window. The vestry is entered by a
small door in the north side of the chancel,
and on the same side stands a small organ.
The interior of the church, now that it has
been so carefully restored, presents a very
fine appearance, and must be seen to be
appreciated. On the exterior a good deal
of work has been done. The stone of the
walls had so perished that it was difficult
to get a fair specimen, so that new stone of
a similar character might be provided. A
good deal of new stone has, therefore,
been used on the outside, the buttresses,
coping, and other ornamental stone work
being entirely new.
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The porch was taken down and rebuilt, and
it now forms a very fitting entrance to a
very beautiful church. There is also an
entrance to the edifice on the north side.
Nothing apparently has been done to the
exterior of the tower. It stands with its
marks of Time upon it, but it looks very
sturdy, and as if resolved quietly to
maintain its ground for a century or two
come rough or smooth. It contains some
bells, and on Thursday they were rung by
some humble but enthusiastic churchmen,
who seemed to think that what they were
doing was no insignificant part of the
day’s proceedings. The restoration has in
its entirety been carried out very carefully
and in a most happy spirit.
164 (Hymns Ancient and Modern); Venite,
Tallis; Te Deum, chant services, Hamilton
Clarke; Benedictus, Ouseley; Psalms,
Turle and Ouseley; Anthem, “Praise the
Lord, O Jerusalem”; hymns 320 (tune,
Aurelia), 306 (tune, Harewood); and
responses to the Commandments, Nares.
The choir were assisted by Mr and Mrs
Charlesworth, and the choral part of the
services was rendered very admirably,
particularly the anthem. The singing gave
evidence of good training and diligent
practice. We wish we could say the same
of all village choirs. Mr Charlesworth ably
presided at the organ at this and the
evening service. The first lesson was read
by the Rev H W Phillott and the second by
the Vicar, the Rev W P A Campbell. The
prayers were intoned by the Rev Sir F
Gore Ouseley, Bart.
Part of the
Communion was intoned by the Bishop of
Hereford. The epistle was read by the Rev
H W Phillott, and the gospel by the Bishop
of Worcester.
The character of the building has been
preserved, disfigurements have been
removed, and it is now a comely and
beautiful temple of which the Vicar, the
parishioners and the diocese, may be
proud. The architects were Messrs Bodely
and Garner, of London, and the builder,
Mr T Holland, of Eardisland, who has
executed the work entrusted to him in a
very admirable and workmanlike manner.
The sermon was preached by the Lord
Bishop of Hereford, who took for his text
Psalm v. 7 – “But as for me, I will come
into Thy house in the multitude of Thy
mercy; and in Thy fear will I worship
toward Thy holy temple.” In the course
of his remarks his lordship observed that
having that day, by the great goodness of
God been restored to their parish church,
and such a church – a church now in all its
parts made in some degree less unworthy
of the majesty of Him who dwelt within it
– surely they felt in the words of the text
that henceforth they would press forward
to it, they would duly throng that hallowed
place, they would come there to worship
God, in the multitude of His mercy and in
fear would they seek Him in His holy
The opening services were held on
Thursday, a day which will long be
remembered at Almeley. The day was
very fine, and in addition to the
parishioners, who on this day turned out en
masse, there was a large number of visitors
from the country round, and thus this
usually quiet rural place presented quite a
lively appearance.
The Morning Service commenced at half
past 11. The sacred edifice was crowded
in every part, and many were unable to
obtain seats. The following were the
musical arrangements:- Processional hymn
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temple. Let him then, before they parted,
say one word only in conclusion by way of
stamping as well as he could upon the
hearts of each individual there what it was
he had put before them. He wanted, as
strongly as he knew how, to impress upon
them not only the privilege, but the duty,
connected with public worship. Whether
public worship were regarded objectively
as an act of homage to the great king of
Heaven, and to him as the Supreme
Governor of the earth, he could not think
of a greater honour than to be allowed to
tread His courts, and to present himself
before Him. The faithful subject rejoiced
above all things in the court of his
sovereign. “Happy are thy servants, O
Lord, who stand continually before thee.”
Or if they regarded it subjectively, viz,
with respect to themselves and the benefits
to be secured by a regular attendance at
public worship. If they looked at it as a
means of refreshing to the worn and weary
soul, the result was the same. It was
appointed for them by the mercy of a
loving father, who knew all their
necessities, that they should in this manner
obtain what was needful for their souls’
welfare. After some further remarks his
lordship said he hoped they would steadily
bear in mind the service of that day, and
with a firm resolution make the words of
his text their own, and say that whenever
an opportunity offered they would come
into His house in the multitude of His
mercy, and that in his fear would they
worship towards His holy temple. It only
remained that he should tell them that the
alms which would be collected while the
offertory sentences were being read, would
be presented as a holy offering to
Almighty God upon his own holy table.
He could not look at the noble work which
had been done without saying that his
sympathies were with those who, in that
part of the diocese, had given their best to
it. All honour to those who had done so.
His sympathies were always with those
who when they engaged in any good work
did it with all their heart as unto the Lord,
and gave to God of their best. It was
because it seemed to him that the work
which had been done, in that place had
been carried out upon that principle that he
commended it to their liberal support that
day. But let them remember that whatever
they gave it would not be given, it would
be a loan; it would be lent unto the Lord,
who would abundantly repay whatever His
servants devoted to His service.
The collection was then made, the
offerings being gathered by the Rev F F
Reaveley, Rev C S Palmer (Eardisley),
Rev T Morgan (Brilley) and Rev C K M
Green (Lyonshall).
The offertory
amounted to £102 13s 6d.
THE AFTERNOON SERVICE
Commenced at 3.30 and was even more
numerously attended than the previous
service. The musical arrangements were
as follows:- Processional hymn 242, tune
Dedication; Magnificat, Elvey: Nunc
Dimitis, Hayes; psalms, chants, one by
Russell and one by Kinkee; anthem, “I was
glad”, Elvey; Hymns 196 (tune Unser
Herscher), and 243 (tune Oriel). The
anthem went remarkably well. The first
lesson was read by the Rev H W Phillott
and the second by the Vicar. The prayers
were intoned by the Rev Sir F Gore
Ouseley, Bart. An able sermon was
preached by the Lord Bishop of Worcester,
who took for his text Genesis xxviii 17 –
“How dreadful is this place! This is none
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other but the house of God, and this is the
gate of Heaven.” The offertory amounted
to £35 8s 8d.
£30; Rev W P A Campbell, £25; H
Williams Esq, £20; The entire cost of the
restoration, including the stained glass
window, amounts to £1,800, and we
believe there is still a deficiency of £300.
Additional accommodation has been
obtained for 46 persons, and the entire area
will accommodate 336 persons.
Amongst the clergy and others who were
present during the day were the following:
- The Lord Bishop of Hereford and Mrs
Atlay; the Lord Bishop of Worcester and
Mrs Phillpotts; Rev Sir F G Ouseley, Bart,
Mus Doc; Rev W P A Campbell, Mrs
Campbell and Miss Campbell; Rev H Dew
and the Misses Dew, Whitney; Rev C E M
Green, Lyonshall; Rev W H and Mrs
Lambert, Stoke Edith; Rev C S Palmer,
Eardisley; Rev Dr Heather, Dilwyn; Rev
W C and Mrs Fowle; Rev J J G Graham,
Much Cowarne; Rev T K Thomas and the
Misses Thomas, Winforton; Rev B S
Dawson, curate of Yazor; Rev Thomas
Morgan, Brilley; Rev W E Sollon,
Kentchurch; Rev Mr Barker Eardisland;
Rev G Clay, curate of Kington; Rev J
Dudley, Sarnesfield; Rev T T and Mrs
Reaveley; Rev W H Baldwin; Rev H W
and Mrs Phillott; Rev C J and Mrs
Robinson, Norton Canon; Rev C H and
Mrs Pilkington, Letton; Rev E Du
Buisson, Breinton; Captain Cazalet; Mr T
T Reaveley, Kinnersley Castle; Mr and
Mrs Bodenham, Kington; Mr S and Mrs
Robinson, The Moor; Mr A Temple and
Miss Margaret Temple, Kington; Mr, Mrs
and Miss M’Murdo, etc etc.
Amongst the subscribers are the
following:- The Bishop of Hereford £10;
the Ven Archdeacon Lord Saye and Sele
£10; J Gibson Watt Esq., £500; The
Ecclesiastical Commissioners £400; Miss
Campbell £50 (subscribed for stained glass
window); Diocesan Society, £50; Miss Lea
£40 (subscribed for stained glass window);
Incorporated Church Building Society
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