The Church St Mary

As you enter the church and turn towards the Altar the feature that catches your eye is the Chancel Screen. This dates from about 1730 and is remarkable not only for its size but for the fact that it is the only 18th century screen in the county. Charles Kingsley is said to have designed the lilies on the eastern side of the screen.

Before you pass through the screen, notice the Kingsley brass on the wall, and the Pulpit which is part of the old 'three-decker" with sounding board. Look for the fox on the steps which was carved in memory of John Todd who was a churchwarden here.

Under the carpet in the Chancel there is an unusual brass in the form of a Cross and is in memory of Richard Pendilton who died in 1502 he was the servant of Giles Dawbeny, Chamberlain to King Henry VII.

The window above shows St. Elizabeth of Hungary (the subject of a poem by Kingsley) and two water babies. Tablets on the east wall date from the i7th century: Lady Henley was the wife of the Lord of the manor of Bramshill. Alexander Ross, a famous man in his time, spent his last years at Bramshill House.

The monument on your left is to Dame Marianne Cope. whose family
owned Bramshill from 1699 to 1934. This alabaster effigy is by James Redfem.

Dame Marianne Cope Born XIII February MDCCCIII Fell asleep in Christ XX December MDCCCIXII May she rest in peace AMEN

As you leave the Chancel notice the fist of Rectors on the pillar. You are now on the site of the original Church, though the aisle and the chapel have both been
rebuilt. However, an ancient piscine remains in the south-east corner of the Chapel.

The font is Victorian and took the place of an older one. Under the cover on the floor (which may be lifted) there is a sarsen stone which was discovered in 1940. It has been there for 50.000 years and surely shows that the first Christian Church was built on the site of the older heathen worship.

Near the door to the Hall there is a tablet to Mary Henrietta  Kingsley niece of Charles, a remarkable Victorian lady Traveller and Author

An organ was erected in 1886 and was rebuilt in 1910 in memory of King Edward VI I who came to Eversley as Prince of Wales. In 1940 the organ was
entirely reconstructed and moved from the east end of the north aisle to its present position.

Before you leave the church look at the stained glass window to the right of the door. How many fishes can you find hidden in it?

As you return to the lych-gate the sequoia tree on your left. was grown from a seed brought back from America by Charles Kingsley and planted by his daughter Rose after his death.

Charles Kingsley Rector here from 1844-1875

As you walk down the avenue of Irish Yews from the Lych-gate to the church porch you will see a brick path on your left, leading to Charles Kingsley's grave. The grave is marked by a large white marble cross on which, under a spray of his favourite passion-flower, are the words of his choice, the story of his life 'Amavimum, Amamus. Amabimus", meaning we loved - We love, -We shall love to all eternity. Above these words, circling round the cross. 'God is Love', the keynote of his faith.

Here. on a snowy day in January 1875m Charles Kingsley. Rector of Eversley and Canon of Westminster, was laid to rest after a service taken by Dean Stanley of Westminster, and attended by a great congregation of those who loved him.

It was thirty-three years earlier that he had first come. as a young deacon, to Eversley to work as curate under a rector who had shamefully neglected his duties. Unmarried, but engaged to Fanny Grenfell, he longed for a living of his
own which he could share with the lady of his choice. He settled in lodgings at a house in Eversley Cross, now called Dial House, to work at bringing the people committed to his care back to God. He and Fanny were married and moved to a Dorset parish but before he had really settled there strange developments were taking place in Eversley; the rector left very suddenly, and Sir John Cope of Bramshill. the patron of the living, remembered the young curate who had impressed him by his zeal and offered Kingsley the living of Eversley. So by the end of 1844 the Kingsleys had settled in the Rectory close by the Church
where in the study with its massive old chimney much of his writing was done, and where one morning in 1863 the first four chapters of The Water Babies first saw light of day.

Of Kingsley's work elsewhere, of his activities as a Christian Socialist, of his academic work as Professor of Modern History at Cambridge, of his Royal Chaplaincy and his tutorship of the Prince of Wales (later Edward VI I), of his work as a naturalist and a geologist, his many biographies will tell. Here at Eversley he was the simple parish priest, who got to know his people and to love them and be loved by them. He took their part against an inconsiderate Lord of the Manor and his even more callous agent. He spoke to them in their own tongue, and though many of them thought his new tangled ideas about the necessity of ventilation and sanitation in their home somewhat unnecessary, they respected his whims. He dressed as a farmer rather than as a cleric, and he knew the countryside and its ways as well as they did. He strove hard to raise the standard of education, by cottage meetings and lecture, by very careful teaching in preparation for confirmation and above all by starting the village school in 1854 which still stands (although it is greatly increased in size) as an aided church school, now called 'Charles Kingsley's School'.

A churchman of the 'broad' school, he detested 'popery', yet he introduced decency and order into the services at Eversley. Holy Communion ceased to be
only a quarterly sacrament, the altar was properly covered and the cracked basin in the font removed. Quiet reverence became the order of the day.

His special joy in his free time was fishing and the fly-book that he used is still in existence. He rode, though hardly ever to hounds, but in a village full of poachers
he never carried a gun. Tradition has it that he kept a collection of clay pipes hidden in trees around the parish so that he could always manage a quiet smoke when out visiting. But he was probably at his best in his very happy home with Fanny and their four children, Rose. Maurice. Mary and Grenville, who were born to them at Eversley. Their home was always open house to his friends, the place where the problems of the day were discussed and argued about with much laughter and good wine.

The church he loved was 'restored* immediately after his death as a memorial to him and so is greatly changed from the church he knew. The screen was painted in his day (though against his wishes) for he preferred the old 'dunduckerty
brown' colouring).

On the wall of the aisle there is a plaque of Charles Kingsley below a Latin inscription in his honour. Further on there is a tablet of John James who built Walbrook House in the village, the church tower and possibly the church in 1724. To the Beloved Memory of Charles Kingsley, Canon of St Peter Westminster. and much loved Rector of this Church for 31 years. His sorrowing parishioners and friends have charged themselves with the restoration of this hallowed building. which he illuminated wi th his teaching AD 1875

On the east wall of the north aisle there is the memorial brass placed in his memory, and on the south wall there is a memorial to his family.

To close this brief appreciation, a quotation from one of his sermons preached in Eversley in 1867 is given:

And so the peace of God will keep you in Jesus
Christ, in this life. and in the life to come"

This appreciation is compiled from notes in the Church Guide written by—Maurice B.S.Godfrey, M.A.Rector of Eversley 1966-1980 and edited by
Sara Beer.