Details
CHARLTON KINGS
SO9621SW LONDON ROAD
630-1/29/84 (South West side)
22/04/50 Church of the Holy Apostles
GV II
Church. 1865-71, with porch and vestry added to west end in
1934 and roof renewed 1970. By John Middleton; patron: Charles
Cook-Higgs; builder: William Jones of Gloucester; interior
probably by Boulton's of Cheltenham and HH Martyn of
Cheltenham.
MATERIALS: rough-faced rubble with ashlar quoins and
dressings, plain tile roof.
PLAN: Gothic Revival, Early Decorated style. 6-bay aisled nave
with clerestory, south and north porches, 2-bay transept
chapels and angled apse. Chamfered plinth, sill bands. Off-set
buttresses between bays.
EXTERIOR: projecting south porch with pointed opening and
piers with foliate capitals, pointed plank door; sundial,
belfry dated 1868 and stepped buttresses. North porch with
gable containing clock, cusped doorway. 2-light nave and
clerestory windows have individual Decorated-type tracery to
heads, alternately coloured voussoirs; triangular heads to
clerestory windows. Similar 2-light windows to apse with
hoodmoulds and headstops; chancel door to south side has
funnel hood. Transept chapels have 3-light windows and small
rose windows above to east ends. Large west window and oculus
with angel stops and motto 'Gloria etc' on label. To west end
are turrets with pinnacles and finials.
INTERIOR: elaborately carved, the scheme depicts church
reformers in nave, English to north aisle, European to south
side; also the Apostles. Windows have slender pilasters and
foliate caps with cavetto and hollow moulding and roll-moulded
hood with head-stops of reformers and martyrs including:
Wycliffe, Tindal, Lady Jane Grey, Edward VI, Catherine Parr,
Latimer, Cranmer, Ridley, Coverdale, Hooper (north aisle);
south aisle includes Jerome of Prague, Jan Huss, Bucer,
Melanchthon, Calvin and Peter Martyr.
Nave arcade on column clusters with foliate capitals and
double-chamfered arches with continuous hoodmould and carved
symbols to stops including serpent and phoenix, end headstops
are Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Clerestory has continuous
band which projects to form plinths for slender columns
between windows.
West end has carved band of foliage and flowers, 'Suffer
little children..etc' and carved arcade above with scenes from
life and ministry of Christ. Apse is elaborately treated with
carved fruit, floral and bird motifs to dado and foliage above
with band of foliage. Nave arcade has roundels with symbols of
the 4 apostles to clerestory level. Apse: windows have
colonnettes of Purbeck marble to sides and alternate black and
white stone voussoirs. 2 sedilia and piscina have Purbeck
marble columns with foliate capitals, crocketed gables with
finials and angel stops with central Caritas. Apse roof
supported on short columnar corbels with angel bosses;
alabaster reredos has carving of the Last Supper. Apse has
Minton tile floor.
Transept chapels: 2 pointed double-chamfered moulded arches
with alternate grey and white stone heads on column clusters,
south chapel is a War Memorial.
FITTINGS: carved pulpit, octagonal, shows Jesus preaching.
Stone, alabaster and granite font shows Baptism and scenes
from Life of Christ inscribed 'One Lord. One Faith. One
Baptism. An offering by Revr. Henry George Liddell 1868'.
Stained glass to most windows. Roof lowered in 1970-2.
HISTORICAL NOTE: proposed tower and spire for west side not
built. Higgs (of No.191 London Road (qv)) donated the site in
1862 and »1,000 towards the building cost, although the final
cost of approx »7,000 is reputed to have been met by him.
Higgs resisted attempts to have the Church consecrated in
order to control the appointment of the incumbent, it could
not be consecrated until after his death in 1884.
Initially known as the Church of the Twelve Apostles, it was
the daughter church of the Church of St Mary (qv) and not, as
has been supposed, built in protest against the latter's high
church tendencies. It forms a group with the Holy Apostles'
Old School (qv), also by Middleton and the drinking fountain,
London Road (qv).
John Middleton designed several churches in Cheltenham
including All Saints, All Saints' Road (qv); St Mark, Church
Road (qv); St Philip and St James, Gratton Road (qv); and St
Stephen, St Stephen's Road (qv).
(The Buildings of England: Verey D: Gloucestershire: The Vale
and The Forest of Dean: London: 1970-: 120; Blake S:
Cheltenham's Churches and Chapels AD 773-1883: Cheltenham:
1979-: 38-9; Paget M (ed), Charlton Kings Local History
Society: A History of Charlton Kings: Gloucester: 1988-:
128-132; Charlton Kings Local History Society Bulletin: 1986-:
41-43; A Brief History of the Church of the Holy Apostles
1871-1921: Cheltenham: 1921-).
Listing NGR: SO9603121270
This List entry has been amended to add sources for War Memorials Online and the War Memorials Register. These sources were not used in the compilation of this List entry but are added here as a guide for further reading, 27 October 2017.
