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The Parish Church of
All Saints, Fawley. Along with the churches of Dibden, Eling,
Boldre and Brockenhurst, Fawley survived the de-population of the
area when William the Conqueror designated the South-Westem part
of Hampshire, known to the Saxons as Ytenne, as a royal hunting
forest. The story of the destruction of some thirty-five villages
and their churches has now been proved to be an exaggerated
report put about by some dissatisfied monks who wished to
discredit William. However, this eleventh century record provides
evidence of a Church here prior to the Norman Conquest.
Fawley Church is
dedicated to All Saints. However, a small quantity of old glass
from the east window of the chancel was recovered showing the
small figure of a saint and the inscription evidently forming
part of 'Sctus Nicholaus'; from which we may draw the conclusion
that probably the south chantry was dedicated to Saint Nicholas,
the patron saint of sailors. This part of the Church is the last
seen on departure and first on return to Southampton Water. It is a possible reason for building the
Church on this site. The new Chapel within All Saints built in
1983 is dedicated to Saint Nicholas, and alongside the Church
stands the Fawley Seafarer's Centre opened in 1988 and giving
hospitality to and linking foreign sailors with their homes.
THE SAXONS
We know that the Bishop of Winchester held lands in Fawley and
elsewhere for the maintenance of the Old Minster, and that those
lands were transferred to the New Minster in 971 A.D.. The
Benedictine monks from the New Minster at Hyde in Winchester
built the first small chapel here. Reference to this piece of
land and to there being a chapel here occurs again in the
Domesday Survey in 1086 A.D. where Fawley is referred to as Falegia. There is physical evidence of a smaller chancel from
this period behind the Norman-style chancel arch. This chancel
had a stone tiled roof, the outline of which may be seen on the
wall. And outside, in the east wall underneath the chancel
window, a window of Saxon origin and carved from a single stone
can be seen, backed by an eighteenth century tombstone. This
window was moved here from a wall now contained within the Church
where it may well have been used as a leper squint. The
hagioscope, or leper squint, was held in the aperture in the
south wall of the chancel. These 'lepers' might have suffered
from any number of contagious skin diseases, which need not have
been leprosy. The chapel on this side of the Church was, for some time, separated from the rest of the Church and still has a
separate entrance. Possibly lepers were permitted here where they
could peer through the Saxon window at the priest. The lepers in
Fawley lived at a bam called Lazarus (a Lazarette was an
isolation hospital in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries),
which was behind the Poorhouse in Church Lane. The Lazarus Bam
was demolished in the middle of the eighteenth century. The Poorhouse cottages which were on the north of the Church near
the present church car park, were demolished around thirty- five
years ago.
Amongst the traditions of the Parish is one which suggests that
the stones of the Church were originally deposited at Rollestone,
and that the Church was to have been erected there. Apparently
the stones were moved (some believed by supernatural power) to
the site where the present Church is built. From this vantage point overlooking Southampton Water, Fawley people, over the
years, have witnessed many stirring scenes. These incidents would
go back at least as far as the Saxon Conquest of the region,
which was destined to become the Kingdom of Wessex. The Saxon
leaders Cerdic and Cymric are said to have landed near Calshot in
519 A.D.. Later Alfred ruled a united country from Winchester.
The closing years of the ninth century were marked by frequent
Danish raids on Southampton. One took place 897 A.D. on the
Southampton Water between Fawley and Hamble. To support this was
the discovery in more recent times in the Hamble Estuary of the
keel of an ancient galley supposed to be one of the six Danish 'longships' which were met and
defeated by King Alfred's fleet.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHURCH
To understand how the Church came to have its present shape and
dimensions one must first try to visualise a smaller aisleless
Church consisting of only a nave and chancel. This was the Church
of the twelfth century. Development took place over a number of
years with two main periods of building being noticeable; one
from 1170-1210 and the other from 1300-1340. To the first period
belongs the alterations to the chancel, the building of the two chapels one on either side and the lower part
of the tower. To the second period belongs the graceful Early
English arches, the addition of the north and south aisles to the
nave, the extension of the nave to its present length, and the
raising of the tower.
The Church was subsequently extensively altered and put in order
in the time of Reverend William Gibson around 1850. After
hundreds of years the open space within the Church had given way
to the introduction of the first pews. Until that time, services
and other occasions occurred with people standing and, if
desired, moving around freely. The introduction of pews made the
inside of churches very different. Reverend Gibson removed the
old pews and the whole body of the Church was fitted with new
sittings of a uniform type which remained until 1988. The dormer
window on the north of the Church was introduced at this time to
give light to a small gallery or box pew (in the evening it
appears mellow blue). The arches of the tower remained filled up
with brick-work and the interior of the tower was used as a
vestry. A rough wooden ladder to the belfry filled up much of the
space. At this time the western porch was erected to protect the
doorway from weather. The Church would then seat 736! According
to a subsequent return to the Bishop, seats were reduced by the
addition of an organ and a stove, and the formation of a vestry
in the south chantry. However, the Church could still seat 658. Mrs. Gibson wrote regarding the
arrangements:
"The Church
was a most remarkable specimen of pewing when we first went to Fawley. There were five
galleries, so called; two at the west end, reached by different
staircases and quite separate. One was for the orchestra (bass, viola, flute, etc.) the other for men. On the
South side was the Eaglehurst pew and the old Lord Caven requested Lord Walsigham to have one of the pillars in the
nave cut away because it interferred with his view of the pulpit. Happily Lord Walsingham declined. Over the
North aisle were two galleries; the one at the west end for men and women; the other simply a pew belonging to
one of the farms, so placed that the occupant could if he pleased read the sermon for himself, if it
were legibly written".
In 1866/67 further
alterations were made. The tower was thrown open to the Church by
the removal of the brick-work which filled up the western and
northern arches. In 1867 a new organ built by J. Walker was given
by Mrs. Berkeley Drummond and erected in the north aisle at the
back of the present lady chapel. The cost of the new organ was £200. That organ was subsequently damaged by a
bomb in 1940. By comparison, the rebuilding of the present organ
in 1989 cost £17,365.
In 1886 the old communion table was removed and a new one
substituted. At the same time the wooden floor at the east end
was removed and replaced with Portland stone. In 1890 the Church
was warmed by a large stove near the west door; a smaller one
near the organ; and a slow combustion stove near the chancel door.
In 1906 the warming stoves were removed and a heating apparatus
for hot water was introduced at a cost of
£131.
A BOMB FALLS ON ALL SAINTS
On the 23rd November, 1940 during a bombing raid, an aircarft
released its bombs over Fawley. One bomb exploded slightly north
of the centre of the chancel leaving a crater in the floor about
twenty feet across and six to eight feet deep. The chancel roof
was completely destroyed as was the communion rail and the tiled
floor in that area. The organ built by J. Walker, which was then
in the north aisle, was completely shattered and severe damage
was done to the electrical wiring and central heating system.
Miraculously the window in the north chapel dedicated to those
who died in the First World War was undamaged. A temporary screen
was placed across the entrance to the chancel and north and south
chapels to enable the Church to continue to be used.
In the post war restoration, care was taken to preserve important
features and, where possible, to restore them to their original
positions. The ceilings of the two chapels were not replaced. As
a result, in the north chapel can be seen the modem replacement
timbers, while those in the south chapel are much older and probably date from the fourteenth century. Note particularly the
truss nearest the window in this chapel. Both chapels contain
trefoil piscinas and a corbel to hold an alter light. The gallery
across the west end of the Church was the last to be removed in
1951 during this period of restoration. From the position of the
supporting corbels it is easy to imagine how dark and
claustrophobic the Church was in at least part of its history.
Much of the inspiration for the restoration of this period was
encouraged by the then Rector, the Reverend John Mearing. A
plaque in the north-east comer of the Church marks his
achievement. The Church was re-dedicated on Sunday 12th
September, 1954 by the Bishop of Winchester.
THE LATEST RENOVATION
The latest period of development to the interior of the Church
has occurred in the 1980's. The south chantry has been enclosed
to develop a utility area which serves as a chapel dedicated to
Saint Nicholas and a vestry. The enclosing of this area has been
achieved in such a way that the pillars in the chancel remain
free- standing. The suspended wooden floor supporting the pews in
the main body of the Church was found to contain dry rot. The
floor and pews were removed in 1988 to be replaced by a solid
floor topped with Purbeck stone. Chairs made of beech-wood with
tweed upholstery now provide seating. The rebuilt organ
installed in 1954 by Ivemey and Cooper of Southampton, which
replaced the Walker organ of 1867 destroyed in 1940, has been
completely rebuilt and added to by Bishop and White organ
builders. Since 1954 the instrument had been standing at the rear
of the north aisle but in 1989 it was repositioned so that the
instrument is now at the back of the centre aisle in front of the
west window. There is a separate organ console positioned midway
along the north wall of the Church and connected to the pipework
by a multicore cable.
AS YOU WANDER
As you wander, you will notice a number of interesting features.
Your entry through the Church was through a doorway of
traditional twelfth century construction. It is likely that this
fine Norman 'dog-tooth' archway was intended for the south
entrance and was moved to its present position when the Church
was enlarged in the fifteenth century. On the chancel arch can be
seen two large stone corbels, and over the arch two small ones
with carved faces. These formed the supports of the roof loft,
which was approached by a staircase from the north side.
There is a fine example of an early Norman window in the tower.
It is filled with glass to represent the coats-of-arms of various
members of the Drummond family. The falcon which surmounts the
four shields is the crest of the Dukes of Perth, and titular head
of the family. The left side of each of the shields represent the coats-of-arms of the male members of the Drummond family and on
the right the coats-of-arms of their respective wives. Details of
the marriages can be traced by referring to the memorial brasses
in the arcade, matching the shield in the window with the shield
of brass. On the east wall of the tower there is a hatchment
which belonged to a male member of the family. These lozenge
shaped coats-of-arms were hung for some months at the front of
the house of the deceased person, after which time it was brought into the Church. The colour and arrangement of the arms give
information of the deceased. This one being black on the left and
white on the right indicates that it relates to a married male
member of the family who died before his wife (Andrew Robert
Drummond, husband of Lady Elisabeth - in whose memory the east
window was given). The Drummond vault is under the floor in the
front of the chancel. There are records of many other people
being buried inside the Church and a number of these are referred
to by memorials.
The statue of Christ the King which stands in the alcove on the
south wall of the aisle is a relatively recent gift from the
neighbouring Parish of Beaulieu. It was orginally in the church
at Park (now dismantled) and had been placed there in 1908 in
memory of Mr. H.A. Huth who lived at Eaglehurst, Calshot, within
this Parish.
The oldest memorial brass can be found on the north wall of the
chancel. It is a memorial to Sir Thomas Audley of Holbury Manor
who was His Majesty's Receiver General for the counties of
Southampton, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire in the seventeenth
century.
The model of a 'long-boat' in the south chapel was made by Fred
Green. It recalls the 'exile' to this Parish of the Islanders
from Tristan da Cunha. Set in the South Atfanic, it is said to be
the remotest island in the world. In October, 1961 the volcano
which the Island consists of, erupted. The population survived by
escaping in their fishing boats made of canvas stretched over a
wooden frame. An actual boat used in the escape can be seen in
the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich. Next to the model is a
piece of volcanic rock from the Island. Also alongside is a
fragment of the bomb which fell on All Saints in 1940.
PARISH REGISTERS
Very little old woodwork remains in the Church. In former times
it could boast of a three-decker pulpit of which only one section
remains. It is still a fine example of Jacobean work. There are
three old Parish chests, one which dates from the seventeenth
century. They once held the Parish Registers of Baptism,
Marriages and Burials and other books and documents relating to
the work carried out by the Churchwardens, who besides being
ecclesiastical officers were the local government officers up to
the mid-nineteenth century. The registers are complete from 1677.
Trends in Christian names are interesting. For the most part the
Registers ring the changes on William and Thomas, Mary, Elizabeth
and Jane, but the following are unusual: Selah, Bazill (feminine), Pesco,
Trusterum, Alias, Philadelphia, Ancey, Damask, Ernlyn, Fortune, Fortunatus,
Setuen, Gatharell, Martilla, Gerril,
Barbary, Roberra, Diney and Laugh. Surnames familiar to us now and regularly found in the registers are: 1678 -
Boamen,
Hobart, Etheridge and Abraham. In the 1811 census: Snelgrove,
Bonner, Limbum, Cull, Etheridge, Wheeler, Baker, Aldridge, South, Bunday, Nicholas, Whitfield,
Musslewhite, Tiller (Tillyer),
Morris, Cole, Osey, Westbrook, Major, Simmonds, Saunders, Wright, Trattle, Soffe, Drummond, Cotton, Arnold, Hayward,
Osman, Attwood, Kitcher, Mintram, Read, Willis and Waterman.
There are many interesting entries in the Parish Registers which
are particularly noteworthy. Amongst these are the following:
August 3rd, 1694. Buried Philip Rossiter aged 105 as he himself
reported.
February 6th, 1725. Charles Tirmey of Hieth taken by Pirates and
carried captive by them entered upon a brave resolution to
destroy the Captain of the Pirates which he effected and redeemed
himself and companions, but dyed at home by the small pox.
March 1781. Catherine wife of John Bitten of Hythe who on Monday
5th of this month was found lying in bed with her throat cut; and
as her husband John Bitten was found lying in the kichen behind
the back door in the same condition with a bloody knife clenched
in his left hand, it was immediately suspected that
he was the murderer. Accordingly from circumstances the coroner's
inquest found a verdict against him of wilful murder and suicide.
He is buried at Hardley Lane End, leading to Bewley, in the Cross
Road. He had all his clothes on except his shoes. (The spot where
this interment took place is said to have been at the end of the
lane leading to the Forest from Hardley farm; and it is related
by residents in the Parish that when they were young the grave was marked from the fact that no grass would
grow on it.).
The number of persons drowned whose names were known or of
unknown persons found drowned is very large. It is evident that
the use of small boats in Southampton Water was a constant source
of danger and often ended in fatal accidents.
In the Baptismal Register for 1813 a paper is inserted giving the
following record:
"A male
negro infant supposed to be nine or ten years of age, a native of
Poppoe near Whidal on the coast of Africa and who had been stolen
while playing in the bushes with another boy, was this day
Baptised by the name of Irby Amelia Frederic, in grateful
testimony of the humanity and intrepidity of his gallant
deliverer,
the homble Frederic Paul Irby, Captain of H.M. Ship the Amelia,
who rescued this youth from bondage and from barbarism on the 6th
January 1812, as he was on his passage with many other hapless
children to the Brazils. The same Divine Providence which rescued
this innocent victim of mercantile rapacity from slavery also preserved him for injury and from death in the
fierce conflict which his heroic and benevolent protector
gloriously sustained in asserting the supremacy of the British
flag, in an action with the Arethusa, a French frigate of
superior force. It is not only to record the admirable skill and
unrivalled bravery displayed in this sanguinary conflict in which
46 men, including every lieutenant in the ship were killed and 90
wounded, also the well directed efforts of my truly honourable
friend from whom I received this hapless orphan, to entirely
supress a traffic repugnant to religion and every principle of
justice, that I wish these particulars may be recorded in the
Archives of the Parish of which I am resident. Wllm. Augs. Miles."
In 1746 the spelling
in the records show a sudden deterioration. The writing also
shows a sad change from the beautiful copperplate of the earlier
century. Legacy appears as legesey, leagusey and legasey;
Surveyor as survayours, sirvayours, cervayours and cervayers;
Persons as parsons, pearson and passons. The following entry
shows the low level of scholarship:
"Aprel ye 30,
1746. At a Vesterey on a publick sumones the former perticolers
was ordered and a Greed on that Jon. Froud have a Greed to mend
the 2nd bell and to Put him up and to put all things In Place;
Except the wood worke for the sume of 4 pounds 4 shillings and If
not done afectuley to warn him for 12 month or else to have
nothing for his Labour; ..... I John Froude do agree to perform
the a Bove signd articole."
In the Inventory of
Church goods extracted from documents in the Records there is
reference to a small Paten evidently intended to be used as the
cover for a Chalice. It is part of the Communion Plate which was
presented to the Parish by William of Wykeham, Bishop fo
Winchester at the close of the fourteenth century.
There is also an Elizabethan chalice dated 1562, a goblet styled
chalice dated 1797 with the inscription Wm. Froud, Wm. Etheridge;
Churchwardens, a small chalice and paten dated 1844 and a silver
flagon designed to carry water for Baptism dated 1834. All these
items, together with some newer pieces, are in regular use to
this very day.
The first recorded Rector of Fawley was Nicholas de Rokeland, who
resigned the living in 1273. His successor, Nicholas de Andover,
had scruples of conscience about retaining the two good livings
of Fawley and Droxford, but these were comfortably allayed by a
Papal dispensation. In 1349 and 1350 the Black Death ravaged England. Thomas Crewe did not minister to his dying
parishoners. He obtained leave from the Pope to say Mass in his
own house instead of the Church.
In 1642 came the Civil War. We have no records to show how Fawley
fared, but it is safe to believe that families were divided. Part
of a cannon ball which was found in the Churchyard is probably a
relic of this time. It is now kept in the Vestry. The Rector, Mr. Tull, was a Royalist, and was ejected from the living by the
victorious Puritans.
THE CHURCH BELLS
There are six bells in the tower. Until the 1960's, the bells
were rung from the body of the Church. One rope used for tolling
the bell during services of Holy Communion still hangs below the
tower. A new ringing chamber was dedicated in 1966. On the wall
outside the St. Nicholas Chapel is a carillon. Effectively this
is a cupboard which houses the ropes which, when plucked, operate
hammers against the bells. This is no longer used as the bells are regularly rung by ringers from the Church. Below is a
list of the details of the six bells hanging in the tower.
Treble Cast by John Wamer & Sons, London 1909
"Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound"
Note-F, Weight 200 Kg.
2 Cast by John Wamer & Sons, London 1909
Given by A.C. Drummond
"Ring out the false, ring in the true"
Note - E Flat, Weight 213 Kg.
3 Cast by John Wamer & Sons, London 1867
Note - D Flat, Weight 263 Kg.
4 Cast by R.B. 1603.
"Geve God the glory".
Note - C Flat, Weight 363 Kg.
5 Cast by Richard Flory, 1677. Willaim Andrew, Richard
Coombes, Churchwardens.
Note - B Flat, Weight 300 Kg.
Tenor Cast by Joshua Kipling, 1737. Richard Clarke, Thomas
Colchester, Churchwardens.
Note - A Flat, Weight 400 Kg.
The bells of the tower balanced ready for ringing.
In 1909 the bells were re-hung with new fittings and framework
and two trebles were added by John Wamer & Sons, London. In
1966 the bells were again re-hung with new fittings and bearings
by Mear and Stainbank, London. At the same time a ringing chamber
at first floor level was constructed. There is evidence of
earlier bells than those listed. The Parish records state: "In
1662 three bells were re-hung".
THE EXTERIOR AND THE CHURCHYARD
On the outside of the Church in the wall, two mass clocks or
sundials can be seen on the walls of the south chapel. The one on
the left of the doorway is a true mass clock and bears the marks
of the four services radiating from a hole where the priest used
to insert a stick which cast a shadow on the stone. A very crude
sundial may be found on the eastern side of the south buttress.
It is unlikely that it was orginally placed here as it faces the
wrong direction. It was probably saved, as was the Saxon window
seen on the same wall, by a zealous workman during one of the periods
of restoration.
There are many notable tombstones within the Churchyard and it is
certainly worth spending some time wandering through the seven
acres. On the south side of the Church lies a large granite cross
marking the grave of Flight Lieutenant Kinkead, D.S.O., D.S.C., D.F.C.,
who died while attempting to break the world air speed record. Kinkead was at the time a member of the
R.A.F. High
Speed Flight competing for the Schneider Trophy.
Memorial to Flight Lieutenant
Samuel Marcus Kinkead
D.S.O D.F.C D.F.C
Who died on the 18th March 1928
While flying at Calshot. Gave
his life in an attempt to beat
the world's speed record
This team was based
at R.A.F. Calshot which lies within the Parish of Fawley. Nearby
are the graves of other young airmen who died during the Second
World War. Also in the Churchyard are the graves of Mr. A.C. Cossor, founder of the electronics firm of the
same name; and of Miss Elizabeth Trattle, a local benefactress
whose charity is still administered locally by the Rector and the
Churchwardens. Until 1961, ten German airmen were buried in the
Churchyard but in that year their remains were exhumed and reinterred in Cannock Chase. There are two noteable tomb chests
on the north side of the Church listed as being of particular
historic interest. Nearest the porch is a stone tombchest
surrounded by wrought iron railings and dated 1846. Further along
is a very unusual carved stone tombchest in memory of
James Osey and dated 1686. The Churchyard is still regularly used
for burials and memorials reflect the history of this Parish
throughout the years.
The RAF graves in the
churchyard including the crosses in the foreground
Having served as a
place of worship and community in Fawley for over 1000 years, All
Saints oozes character. It is a place many people love to visit
to just sit in or walk around enjoying the richness of the
architecture and atmosphere. Much of the history is undocumented,
however records held at Winchester Records Office would fill many
booklets like this. A keen eye and an enquiring mind will be
repaid by this fascinating Parish Church. But, All Saints is not
a museum. Those who look after this Church hope that you enjoy
your visit and will want to visit again. We would also remind you
that All Saints remains a busy Parish Church serving what is now a large community within the Parish of
Fawley. You will see evidence of what the Church is about today
as much as what the Church has been about in the past. All Saints
stands to the glory of God on behalf of this community.
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