Church of St Alban

Details

HASLEMERE

915/7/187 TILFORD ROAD 19-SEP-77 HINDHEAD (East side) CHURCH OF ST ALBAN (Formerly listed as: TILFORD ROAD HINDHEAD ST ALBAN'S CHURCH)

II Design of 1906 by John Duke Coleridge; chancel, transepts and chapel completed 1907, east part of nave 1915, west end 1931; vestry extension of 1964 (not of special interest).

MATERIALS: Bargate stone rubble with freestone dressings; tiled roof.

PLAN: Cruciform: five-bay nave with narrow passage-aisles and south porch, north and south transepts (the latter being the base of an unfinished tower), chancel of three bays with Good Shepherd chapel to north and vestry to south, the latter with large modern extension.

EXTERIOR: Perpendicular style. West window of four lights with rectilinear tracery; north transept and east windows identical. Projecting eastern bay of chancel and north bay of transept have tall two-light windows to return walls. Three-light windows to north and south aisles, two-light square-headed windows in clerestorey. Two- and three-light windows to south chapel. West and north doorways are pointed arches with simple mouldings. Similar doorway to gabled south porch, with statue of St Alban in cinquefoil ogee niche above. Flanking buttresses carried up to form squat gabled finials, as are those to the aisles and east and west ends. Single bell in cinquefoil belfry arch above south transept. Original cast-iron downpipes and hoppers with moulded decoration.

INTERIOR: Nave arcades have chamfered arches on alternating cylindrical and octagonal piers. Four similar arches at crossing. Two-bay arcades to north and south of chancel, the latter partly blocked. Carved piscina in chancel. Open timber roofs to nave and chancel with heavy arched braces. Most corbels left uncarved; those in chancel, apparently finished in the mid-C20, depict angels, Eucharistic symbols and the elephant insignia of the 1st Punjab Regiment. Wood block floor to nave, stone floor in sanctuary, inlaid polychrome marble floor to east end of chapel.

PRINCIPAL FIXTURES: Massive stone font at west end of nave: square bowl with blind arcading to sides, supported on four marble columns. No fixed seating in nave. Harrison organ of 1926, installed in north transept in 1946. Choir and clergy stalls of 1929, with blind-traceried frontals and poppy-heads. Traceried altar rails in chancel and chapel; traceried oak screen separating the two spaces. In the chapel, oak panelling, reredos and altar with blind tracery and relief carving depicting the Crucifixion and Agnus Dei. In north wall, tabernacle with brass door bearing sunburst motif; also polychrome marble plaque recording the chapel's dedication.

STAINED GLASS: Several windows by Karl Parsons, his first independent commission after completing his apprenticeship with Christopher Whall. South transept window (1908) showing Christ the Healer, in recognition of the work of the Australian spiritual healer James Moore Hickson. Sanctuary north window, (1910) showing a priest celebrating Communion with St Alban, Queen Bertha of Kent, Caedmon of Whitby and William of Wykeham in attendance. East window (1912) of four lights, depicting the Annunciation, Nativity and Crucifixion, and the risen Christ with Mary Magdalen; in the upper lights, emblems of Hope, Faith, Watchfulness, Prayer and the Eucharist. Good Shepherd chapel north windows (1912), each of two lights: to left, the Virgin and Child with Christ and the children; to right, Christ with St Peter and Christ in Glory. East window in chapel (1909) is by Christopher Whall himself, and shows Christ the Good Shepherd. Two additional windows of the mid-C20: north sanctuary window (1950) by Francis Skeat, showing St Monica and Bishop Talbot of Winchester; west end of north aisle (1945) by Christopher Webb, depicting St George.

HISTORY: Hindhead emerged as a substantial settlement in the late C19, and in 1904 a temporary mission church was built to serve the new community. An architectural competition to design a permanent church was held in 1906, and John Duke Coleridge (1879-1934) was chosen as the architect. The first phase, comprising the chancel, north chapel and transept, and the lower stage of a projected bell tower, was completed by 1907, and the church gained its own parish in the following year. A series of windows by the important Arts and Crafts designers Karl Parsons (1884-1934) and Christopher Whall (1849-1924) was installed in the unfinished church between 1908 and 1912. The three eastern bays of the nave were consecrated in 1915, but the two western bays were not built until 1929-31; the bell-tower was never completed and became in effect a south transept. A large vestry extension was added in 1964. A fire in 1999 destroyed the original high altar and reredos paintings.

SOURCES Cormack, P., Karl Parsons (1987). Nairn, I., Pevsner, N., and Cherry, B., The Buildings of England: Surrey (1971), 313. Church guide and notes on stained glass (supplied by parish).

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION The Church of St Alban, Hindhead, Haslemere, is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * Architectural interest: a large and little-altered Edwardian parish church. * Stained glass: an exceptional Arts and Crafts scheme by Karl Parsons and Christopher Whall.

Legacy

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449581

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LBS

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