All Church, Wokingham Your Personal Tour Part One / Seven

This suggested tour of All Saints Church, Wokingham should ideally start under the uncoloured north aisle window. Take a seat and study the base of the nearest pillar. That pillar base is estimated to be over 800 years old, along with the majority of the pillars of the nave.

The original users of the church would not have been provided with seats. Services were short, they would have been in Latin as was expected by the Roman which was the national religion of the time and there would have been no sermon. We are back around 1190 when the building was dedicated by the Bishop of Salisbury to All Saints.

Little outwardly remains of its medieval construction other than the hard stone pillar bases and the majority of the pillars which are constructed of chalk. Two and two half pillars have had to be replaced and some form of limestone is thought to have been used for this. One was replaced as recently as 1958. The paint finish is not appropriate for chalk pillars that wick moisture up from the ground. It is possible that the inner walls were also of chalk and a couple of patches still remain visible for later inspection.

The octagonal pillar bases could have been produced in Normandy, and shipped over by the Normans who would have overseen the construction. On the time line this would have been just over 100 years since the Battle of Hastings, most of that time being spent by the new rulers on establishing the Norman Style of government.

The requirement to repair a very dilapidated building in 1864 resulted in medieval features being removed, the outside walls rebuilt, the original small chancel demolished including two Saxon arches that led to a north vestry and the removal of a small high east window that was known to contain coloured glass. A new clergy vestry was added to the original choir vestry, the chancel lengthened and raised in height and the south aisle extended to form a new chapel. There were a lot of changes including raising the floor level by 30 cm (1 foot) to be able to install heating pipes under cast ironwork grilles, a boiler under the new clergy vestry, and a coke store. No, not for fizzy drink or drugs, coke was a by product of heating coal and extracting the gas which was used for street lights, lighting for the home and even at one stage lighting here in the church building. Town gas, each town produced its own gas supply, was eventually used for cooking within the home. Coke had enough fuel left in it to be burned, produce heat for a boiler and was inexpensive being a waste product. All Saints Church, Wokingham Your Personal Tour Part Two / Seven

We are still sat in the north aisle. Could you now turn to study the plain style glass used in the window alongside you. If you look high up into the clerestory you can see the green edging repeated on those windows. When Henry Woodyer, a renowned Victorian architect who was also engaged to build the new St. Paul’s church beside the Reading Road here in Wokingham, put in new windows, they would all have looked the same.

All the coloured glass now around the building has been paid for and installed since 1866. A separate booklet is available detailing the windows.

Looking towards the choir vestry at the end of the north aisle there are a set of organ pipes that are now unconnected and are just for show, but they do screen some speakers. There once was an organ in the vestry area beyond the pipes but that was not its first position. There was originally an organ loft sat over the west entrance to the nave both before and after the 1864 reconstructions. There is on the nave floor evidence of a screen that supported it and directed people left or right as they came in from the base of the tower, cutting down the draught a little at the same time. There was also a short south gallery pre 1864, at the same level as the organ, that may have been for a choir. The move of the organ to the choir vestry came around 1870 when a new organ was needed. This also gave improved contact with a chancel choir. Even at that date it would have been hand pumped to provide a store of air in a large flexible leather bag. Later an electric pump would have been installed before the electronic organ took its place in 1988.

Above your heads, along the whole length of the north aisle, was a raked gallery providing additional seating with steps at each end for access. This feature can be seen in the coloured drawing produced by a Miss Julia Roberts around 1860 prior to the changes made by Mr. Woodyer and is shown in full on the June Magazine. The drawing also shows box pews, a velvet lined pew for the Mayor and Aldermen, a triple pulpit, a high east coloured window and the short chancel all lost in the changes. The drawing would have been made from the front of the organ loft looking down and forward through the nave. All Saints Church, Wokingham Your Personal Tour Part Three / Seven

At the original end of the south aisle, before it was extended, a window is also shown on the 1860’s drawing (See back cover of June magazine). A plan of the church drawn in 1853 places the font in line with the south door and in the main nave of the church but is under the view from the organ loft in the coloured drawing. The plan also shows a stove in amongst the box pews, fairly central to the nave, but to the left of the main aisle.

Simple pine pews were installed by Mr. Woodyer on a pine floor laid over a concrete slab. In 1923 the rotting wooden floor and pews were replaced. Parquet blocks on pitch (tar) were used and Austrian Oak pews made to fit the dimensions of the spaces. These are very heavy and difficult to reconfigure hence the plan to move to chairs for flexibility. This will go towards meeting current uses of the ancient building, which would have originally been just an empty space for use of the church and the community.

Let us move east to take a closer look at the pulpit. This would date from the period after 1864 and the view from the pulpit is enjoyed by children in particular when they visit. The crucifix on the wall behind the pulpit was produced in Oberammergau where every 10 years the community re-enact the Crucifixion of Christ.

A chancel screen would have significantly closed off the chancel in 1895 as a memorial to Charles Murdoch who died aged 29. His parents lived at Buckhurst which is currently Hilton St. Annes Manor hotel located near the Coppid Beech roundabout, towards Bracknell. The screen was moved in 1992 to the west end of the nave where the rich carvings, designed by Sir Arthur Bloomfield who also designed the pulpit, can be appreciated for its fine detail. All Saints Church, Wokingham Your Personal Tour Part Four / Seven

The new lengthened chancel is suggested as one example of Mr. Woodyer’s Victorian architecture at its best.

The reredos is by an unknown sculptor but the carving is deeply cut and the detail fine. The wall marble was at one time hidden behind curtains and in many mid 20th century reordering of churches similar finishes have been removed. Here at All Saints it remains as installed by Mr. Woodyer. The same marble can be seen in edging of the steps of the sanctuary.

The carpeted floor of the sanctuary and dais is very recent and will be removed as part of our planned renovations. This will expose the original floor tiles installed by the Victorians and restore this part of Mr. Woodyer’s design to complete the whole reconstructed sanctuary. The brass eagle lectern has been replaced by a lighter wooden one that is more easily moved. The two chairs either side of the main altar could also be the ones shown in that same 1860’s coloured picture (see June Magazine).

To the south is the extension of the south aisle. This is now known as the Lady Chapel, not a chapel solely for ladies but, dedicated to the mother of Christ. It was fitted out in 1907 when Mrs. Katherine Walker had it re-floored and furnished in memory of her husband a Rev Alfred Walker. In 1972, Miss Margaret Grenside had the reredos, that was carved by a Mr. Robinson in 1907, painted in its present colours in memory of her sister Mary.

The chapel has a board listing the incumbents of the church set above a sealed off door. It is planned to re-open this door to enable access to what will be a quieter area should the main nave be used for other activities. The east window was originally at the end of the south aisle and much taller. Mr. Woodyer had it shortened to make room for a chapel reredos. The floor signifies where the end of the south aisle would have originally been. Low down towards the outside wall is an area of damaged, soft chalk clearly visible should you look for it. Maybe here is a hint that all the inside walls were of chalk before the Victorians rendered the insides as well as rebuilding the outer walls. Either side are two books of remembrance. To the south is the British Legion book and to the north is the book listing the cremated remains that have been scattered in the churchyard after space ran out for internments. All Saints Church, Wokingham Your Personal Tour Part Five / Seven

Look around the first pillar on your right as you move back towards the west end of the south aisle. There is a substantial bracket that is there to hold the town mayors mace and is used on civic occasions. There is a small bracket above and even higher a large pin set into the pillar. This is where our priceless treasure is exhibited on those same civic occasions. It is a Royal coat-of-arms, but not just any coat-of-arms. Ours is from the age of Queen Elizabeth I dated E.R. 1582, showing a Lion and a Dragon (not a unicorn) and is complete with spelling mistake (pence it should be pense). It is painted on oak board and on the reverse is inscribed with the name of church wardens who repaired the item in 1823.

Just before you reach the south door there is a memorial on the wall that is quite different to the others in the church. This made of brass and is framed in black marble but worth closer inspection. The marble is badly chipped along its lower edge, the engraving is on metal that is also showing signs of being attacked by some sharp implement such as a sword. There is graffiti and possibly a name written on the memorial but no original written indication as to who placed the memorial or in whose memory. The only clue is the coat of arms of the Daubeny family.

There is clearly a man and a woman kneeling on opposite sides of a prayer desk with open books. The style of dress is Elizabethan and the scratched date is 1625. The Daubeny family are known to have been living in Wokingham at about that time. The question is why it was treated so badly? There was still a struggle between which church faith to follow around that time. Henry VIII was the father of both Elizabeth I and her sister Mary. Mary supported the old Roman Catholic faith, Elizabeth supported the as founded by Henry VIII. Was this monument the victim of clashes of interest in the town where the church had been Roman Catholic for 500 years? It is a significant part of the history of this church.

Before you have a peep out through the south door take a look at the condition of the lower wall each side of the doorway. Here again is evidence of chalk that has been damaged. The chalk continues up each side where it is unpainted and has a grey colour. The same grey blocks that frame the inside of the windows are also of this same chalk which can be seen all around the church. Perhaps All Saints was a chalk church that must have made it very vulnerable to wear and tear over the years that required major work in 1864. All Saints Church, Wokingham Your Personal Tour Part Six / Seven

Now you can take a peek out through the south door and look back to the Saxon style arch with its distinctive decoration. This is not thought to be an original door way construction but an acknowledgment to the Saxon origin of the church in Wokingham. The date is not known but it looks too modern and crisp to be 800 years old. Please bolt this door when to come back into the church.

The font is our next focus of attention. It is from the 1400’s, 15th century, and close inspection of its eight side panels shows evidence that it was once painted, the brown areas could well have been red and the black could have originally been blue. The Tudor rose is prominent in the design. The octagonal shape sits comfortably with the pillar bases. The wooden cover was the gift of a parishioner in 1879.

Now let’s turn and appreciate not just the whole floor area of a building that served a small community but also the dark roof timbers. The roof has been a constant drain on the resources of the community and parishioners over its many years. It is of oak, as would have been the original roof when there would have been a simple span across the nave between the pillars.

It is difficult to imagine the height that an oak tree would have grown to provide timber to reach across each set of pillars. It is almost 10 metres (32 ft 9 inches) pillar to pillar, the tree trunk height would match a three story apartment block plus the tree canopy beyond that. The Royal forest that surrounded the early settlement of Wokingham would have had numerous oaks that were destined to become used in ships for the king’s navy. It would have required very special permission for such large timbers to be used in the roof a church.

The arches and the clerestory were a later addition around the 1400’s. The corbel (carved heads) would likely date from around that same time but nothing is know about who were the models or likenesses. All Saints Church, Wokingham Your Personal Tour Part Seven (final part)

The old chancel screen now obscures the pillars that lead from the nave into the base of the tower. Pass through the doors and observe the pillars to your right and left. They also are of chalk and contain fragments of flint. The floor of the ringing chamber above prevents you seeing how the pillars extend and form the arch at the west end of the nave. This is a 1400’s (15th century) construction. The underside of the floor above has some fine carving along one of the beams close to the swing doors.

The small door on the south side leads to a spiral staircase the gives access to the whole tower. The spiral stair is very unusual in that it spirals around to the left. It is in-defensible to any right-handed fighter. Anyone trying to defend the stair from above would need to use their left hand which would often make defence difficult. This may not be significant for a church building but castles would always have a stair spiralling to the right.

The pair of outer west doors could well have been there before the rebuild of 1864. The size of the key suggest they are very old. A second line of security is hidden behind an open north side door. There is the remains of a once solid, loose, piece of timber that sits in a long tunnel that extends through the tower wall and on into the buttress. On the opposite side of the doors is a socket that would have taken the end of the piece of timber. This was the method of barring the doors if the key was elsewhere. There is a long tradition of churches offering sanctuary should anyone feel they are being pursued unjustly. Anyone in earlier times, being chased by an angry crowd that had no interest in seeking normal justice, may well seek the help of the church to hear their case safely behind barred doors.

The bells of the church have their own history though none of the current set were cast in Wokingham. One of the earlier Wokingham tenor bells can be found at ’s Dorchester with others found at Arborfield, Didcot, Chertsey, Ewhurst as well as many other places.

The needlework of the kneelers at the altar rails have their own set of notes, a timeline of the building, notes on individual windows and profiles of women who are significant to the parish are all available at the west end of the nave. Please return them for others to enjoy. We hope you have enjoyed your visit and this tour.

Please go to www.allsaintswokingham.org.uk should you wish to be kept in touch or would like to make a donation.