St Frideswide's Church New Osney,

by Ala'mint Graham First published in 1978. This edition with revisions and additional material published in 1997.

Malcolm Graham 1978, 1997

All rights reserved

The author is Head of Studies with Oxfordshire County Council and has made a special study of Oxford's Victorian suburbs,

Cover ii/ustration: drawing of St Frideswide s church by Derck He of Cheltenham

Designed and typeset by Andrew Iveu and printed and bound by Oxonian-Rewley Press in the parish of St Frideswide, Oxford The origins of the parish New Osney ur Osney Town developed from meadowland to populous suburb in just a kw years, starting in 1851, It owed its origins to Oxford's Town Clerk, George Parsons Hester (d. 1876), who purchased the land for its building potential as two railway companies, the London and North Western and the Great Western, were opening stations nearby. An auction of 40 lots in September 1851 was followed by rapid building activity and the first houses were occupied by October 1852. Within two years Osney Town had over 300 inhabitants and the 1861 census recorded a population of 795 people in 141 houses, No provision had been made for the spiritual or educational welfare of the inhabitants of this new district which was in the extensive and populous parish of St Thomas. Neither the church nor the parish schools had the resources or accommo- dation to cope with the influx of a new population, and the remoteness of both from Osney Town was further emphasised by the railway line; at the same time. Osney was equally isolated from the Nonconformist churches in the centre of Oxford. The energetic Tractarian vicar of St Thomas's, Thomas Chamberlain (1810-92). was quick to act, making himself personally responsible for the cost of setting up a combined church and school in Osney. He persuaded Hester to sell him a site at the south-west end of Bridge Street at half the market rate and commissioned the architect. George Edmund Street, to design a suitable building, The London and North Western Railway Company agreed to contribute £25 to the project and Christ Church, the patrons of the benefice of St Thomas. promised a donation. By the time the building opened for worship on 19 November 1854. Chamberlain was able to declare that the total cost of about 5:400 had been either raised or promised. Brick inside and out. the new school-chapel on the corner of Bridge Street and South Street was prosaically described as 'a plain. but internally very Church- like-looking building': an elegant open screen separated the east end from the rest of the interior and the wall behind the altar was richly furnished with a dossel of figured satin. Chamberlain may have started a St Fridemides clay school almost immediately and it was certainly in being by 1861, interdenominational rivalry was soon evident in Osney as the active New Road Flaptist Church established a physical presence on the island, Its Sunday School opened with just five children on 16 August la57.. whereupon 'the Puseyite party soon opened a (Sunday] school in that district, which took some of the children away for a short time since then, they have closed their school and the scholars most of them have returned', The Baptist Sunday School continued to flourish to the point of overcrowding and, when pleading for larger premises in 1863. its teachers described the population as 'a peculiarly promising field for Christian work It is comprised largely of railway servants. They are more intelligent than a rural people. having been brought from various parts of the country. and having seen much of men and things, they are more independent than a village people. and than many in towns of religious matters, being free from the domination of both landlords and customers,' The teachers' petition was heard and the foundation stone of a new Sunday Schoolroom in Bridge Street was laid on 9 February 1864. The obvious strength of the Baptists in Osney Town was a challenge to the Established Church and drew attention to the inadequacy of the combined school and chapel. Chamberlain and Christ Church therefore adopted the idea of building a new and much larger church to serve the growing district. A site was easily found in Mrs Jones's Field, a triangular piece of land to the north-west of Osney Island and, on 19 August 1870, Christ Church conveyed this to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. Samuel Sanders Teulon of Westminster was engaged to design the building and, by 22 October, Honour and Castle. a local firm from across the Thames in Russell Street, had been chosen as builders. Their tender, at £2.900, was the lowest received and compared with some of over £5,000.

The building of St Frideswide's Church Despite 'unpropitious weather', which limited the attendance of spectators at the ceremony, the foundation stone of St Frideswide's Church was laid on 13 December 1870 by John Talbot (d. 1910), a Christ Church graduate, who was at the time M.P. for West . Chamberlain then addressed the assembly, remarking that the building was to be completed by 1 October 1871, and that its erection depended much on the enterprise and self-sacrifice of the Reverend Robert Young, who was envisaged as its first vicar. The optimistic tone of these proceedings soon proved to be ill-founded. Young seems to have become disenchanted with the project, and supervision of the building of the church devolved upon a committee comprising the Archdeacon of Oxford (the Venerable C.C. Clerke), the Warden of All Souls College (Dr Francis Leighton), Frederick Morrell, William Ward, and Chamberlain. Their main difficulty was financial, and despite a liberal donation from Christ Church and a grant of £175 from the Oxford Diocesan Church Building Society, additional money was just not available in an area of low incomes. Work on the building therefore ceased for some months in the summer of 1871, and, in November, the committee prefaced a public appeal for upwards of £500 with the announcement that they had entered into a fresh contract with the builders to 'render the church as speedily as possible fit for Divine worship ... without at present attempting the erection of the Tower. or any such ornament as may not be absolutely required'. The appeal to residents in the University, City and neighbourhood was successful enough to finish the church on this more limited scale, and St Frideswide's Church, in spite of the manifold difficulties and discouragements that have been met with [was] opened and consecrated to public worship' by the on 10 April 1872,

The dedication of the church The decision to dedicate the church to St Frideswide (d. 735?), patron saint of Oxford City, University and Diocese, probably owed much to the fact that the patrons of the parish. Christ Church, had inherited from St Frideswide's priory both its buildings and the advowson of Binsey church. Nearby Binsey has also been seen as the place of St Frideswide's final retirement after her escape from her unwanted suitor, Algar. The dedication is a rare one. the only other instances being at Poplar, London (now demolished). Frilsharn, Berkshire, and Water Eaton in Milton Keynes. 2 S.S. Todon's design (1870) for the church. The rower and wire were never built,

3 The architect Samuel Sanders Teuton (1812 -73) was born in , the descendant of a Huguenot family that had escaped from France at the time of the Revocation of the idiot of Nantes in 1685. He began his architectural career by being articled to George Legg, and his first commission came in about 1840. when he designed almshouses for the Worshipful Company of Dyers. TettIon soon built up a large and important practice from offices in Westminster, His commissions were wide-ranging, including schools and parsonages in almost all parts of , farm buildings and cottages on the Windsor Park estate, and not a few mansions, including Tortworth Court, Gloucestershire (1850-2) for the Earl of Dude. A major part of his work was, however, the design or restoration of churches over much of Southern and Midland England, and amongst his London churches was St Stephen's, , near his home, Tensleys. (This great church is now deserted and ruinous.) Described by Pevsner as the 'grossest and most assertive architect of his gener- ation', Teulon designed buildings that were invariably individualistic, and he was never a slavish copier of Gothic forms. Bestwood Lodge, Nottinghamshire (1862-65). has been described as Gothic, chiefly Early English but with Franco-Flemish elements, Nearer to Oxford. at Leckhampstead church, Berkshire (1858-60). Teulon was 'at his most original. using coloured bricks and flint for a building that is of North German character - so far as it has any precedence at all'. The design of St Fricleswide's church was similarly original, and was variously described by contemporary reporters as `Gothic, of the Early English period', as 'Late Early-English or early Decorated style', or as' Early French, style'. The exterior of the church Enjoyment of the building is enhanced by its waterside setting between two back streams of the Thames, and by its bosky churchyard. The latter has now recovered from the effects of Dutch elm disease and of its many trees, the horse chestnuts separating the church from the busy are the most vital. St Frideswide's Church is most substantially built' of rough-hewn blocks of Charibury limestone with Bath stone dressings. It is 105 feet long and consists of a nave, a north porch, and an apsidal chancel above which there is a low octagonal tower; a north transept is squeezed in between the mighty tower buttresses, and, to the south of the crossing, there are the sacristy and an organ chamber, The first appearance of St Frideswide's church must be surprise at its squat appearance, but this is the result of mere historical accident, the failure, through lack of funds, to complete the building as Teulon had designed it. His proposed fifty-four-foot tower topped by a forty-foot spire would have given a central, uplifting feature to the building. which displays instead a powerful horizontal emphasis; the unfinished tower, with its conical roof matching that of the adjoining newel stair turret. seems, if only by force of habit, preferable to later and heavier designs for its completion by H.G.W. Drinkwater (1876) and John Oldrid Scott (1888). The failure to complete suburban churches was, in any case, almost inevitable in less wealthy areas, and, in Oxford, the churches of St Mary and St John 4 Des* f 1875) for the ournpkiloil of the church (see page 4) by H.G.W. Drinkwatm who also designed tin vicarage, From Building News. 6 September 1878

0875.93, A - Mardon Mowbray), St John the Evangelist, New (1900. Bucknall and Comper) and St Michael and All Saints, Surnmertown 0909. A.M. Mowbray) are other examples of churches where, despite considerable local qelf- sacrifice. ambitious plans were only partially realised. The temporary capping-off of the central tower inevitably decayed, and was replaced in 1986 to the &silos of Mr John Perryman. The old asbestos tiles (which had been themselves replacements) gave place to Welsh slate, and this new. permanent, roof is of steeper pitch than the old one. The side- turret, which contains a single bell of 1.571 cast by Warner of London, was at the same time raised by six courses, and capped in lead instead of roofing felt. The nave is lit on both sides by short double and single lancet windows, the Bath 5 stone imposts of which were never carved; left unhewn, these add to the rugged appearance of the building. The north transept has an arcade of five similar lancets, two of which are blind, and in the tower above it there is 'a magnificent rose window, of large dimensions'. The apsidal east end has five windows with over-dimensioned plate tracery, while the west front displays more elaborate tracery within a strongly buttressed facade. Above the sacristy, the organ chamber is lit by two single-light windows on each side, and by a rose window in the gable. The roof, originally of blue Staffordshire tiles but re-tiled in 1965, was adorned with crosses on several gable ends, these perhaps being considered as compensation for the unfinished tower. Only three of the original five now survive, one over the porch. one above the west front; an iron one over the chancel was removed to the new central capping in 1986. The cross formerly above the sacristy was a disguised chimney. Teulon having died in 1873, the vicarage and connecting passage were built by H.G.W. Drinkwater of Oxford in 1876.

Interior and fittings Despite the shortage of funds that left the interior of the church without planned nave benches or stone carving, it was still described in 1872 as 'very neat and comfortable, and perfectly in accordance with good taste; another critic found the interior 'exceedingly handsome'. The nave was fitted out with chairs seating about 280 people. the areas of main traffic being floored with Maws Staffordshire tiles in red. white and blue, At either side the walls, now painted, were unplastered, 'being simply of white brick, well-pointed with black string courses'. Additional decoration of a minimal nature is provided by blue relieving arches above doors and windows, As an economy measure, the exposed timbers of the roof are of varnished Danzig pine. 'the oil giving the woodwork very much the appearance of oak`, Both font and pulpit arc of a plain character, 'corresponding in style with the other part of the church', and doubtless adding to the original air of near austerity. During the ensuing one hundred and twenty five years, this has gradually been softened. In 1950 the church acquired fourteen carved (and now painted) angels which hang on the walls of the nave and Lady chapel. These were rescued from the closure of the Diocesan Penitentiary at Littlernore, This, called 'Saint Mary's Home', was run by the Clewer Sisters (the Community of St John the Baptist) in The Lawns, a large old house which has been incorporated into Lawn Upton Church of England School. The angels, which give every appearance of having been designed as part of a roof, may well have seen earlier service in the Oxford Female Penitentiary at Holywell Manor (now an annexe of Balliol College). The peniten- tiary. established in 1832, set out to reclaim, chiefly for respectable domestic service, those who had 'fallen from grace' through their own misdeeds or the sin of others. Although women entered the home voluntarily, the regime was austere. `grosser cases requiring a long process of habituating self-control'. The work moved to in 1928. Also from the chapel of St Mary's Home are the crucifix and figures of our Lady and Saint John which hang on the south wall of the nave. 6 rf '

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.1.0. Scott's design (1888) for the compktion of the ubeirch (see page 4) 7 The most famous fitting in the church is the Alice Door at the north-east end of the nave. Carved by Alice (in Wonderland) Liddell, daughter of Dr Hem Liddy/1, a former Dean of Christ Church, the door was originally at St Frideswide's Church, Poplar (1890-1953). a church founded as a result of the Christ Church mission to that area begun in 1881. The London church suffered bomb damage daring the Second World War, and after its eventual demolition, the door was returned to Christ Church and placed in St Frideswide's in 1954. The top panel depicts St Frideswide standing somewhat recklessly in a boat travelling from Binsey to Oxford; as the Reverend Arnold MaHinson has pointed out. 'You will notice that she is not bothering to row. So she must have some supernatural power of motion or is relying on the current to transport her down the Isis,' Thu stained glass in the nave came in 1958 from the chapel of St Thomas's Convent, founded by Thomas Chamberlain in 1847 and now closed and demolished. The five windows, dating from 1931, are the work of Geoffrey Webb and were re-set between 1984 and 1988 by Michael Farrar Bell. (A sixth panel, which completes the Easter triptych, is in private hands,) Beneath the west window, the parish's Great War memorial (1921) was designed by F,E. Howard of Oxford, Looking east we see the chancel arch rising from stumpy columns with extraordinarily large capitals and corbels. The chancel itself is separated from the nave by a low stone screen and a pair of iron gates: it is approached by steps which lead the eyes and attention of the congregation towards the still higher altar. The narrowing of the building from 25 feet in the nave to 181/2 feet in the chancel also helps to make the chancel a focal point. and decoration serves a similar purpose. From the first, the chancel was provided with 'some handsome encaustic tiles in very pretty designs'; it was fitted with permanent benches of handsome construction', and the tower ceiling was vaulted with brickwork to match the walls of the nave. The centre panel of the east window was filled 'with rich stained glass' (removed 1905). Subsequent generations have further beautified the chancel. The high altar was enriched in 1908 to can the Reverend G.L. Kemp, first vicar, who died in 1907. The second vicar, A.J. Miller, is remembered by the five central lights of the east window, designed in 1905 by Herbert Davis of London. Two further windows. one on each side, by J.E. Nuttgens of Bletchley, were added in 1930 in memory of Elizabeth Hewitt, These complete the iconographical scheme but can hardly be said to match the earlier glass. Upper roundels. of St Edmund (for Berkshire) on the north and St Frideswide (for Oxfordshire) on the south, arc clearly late work of the Kempe studios, and match the two windows in the Lady chapel (in one of which there is a mis-print Cantaur for Cantuar), Behind the altar, the carved oak reredos, designed by James Rogers of Oxford, was erected in 1906 in memory of Joseph Spence, presumably a relative of the vicar: the altar rail commemorates a local resident. Jane Hewitt (d, 1903). The north transept originally provided seating for 40 children, who were conveniently placed for a quelling look from the vicar. A little door in the east wall provided access for the children who would 'otherwise have to go tyro' the church to their seats'. These few scats proved insufficient, however, and on Sundays by 1887 adults were being 'sadly inconvenienced by the children and at 11 are crowded out'.

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Schemes for a higher chancel screen and an enlarged north transept with a new north aisle were prepared by H.G.W. Drinkwater but came to nothing. Instead, separate seating for children was abandoned. and the north transept became a Lady chapel. containing an altar erected in memory of Marion Spence ( d „ 1911). The organ by A. Hunter of Kensington, 1879) and the sacristy occupy the south transept. Vicars of St Frideswicleis George Lynch Kemp 1872-96 Augustus Jameson Miller 1/496-1905 William Alfred Spence 1905-14 George Herbert Tremenheere 1914-22 Charles Overt' 192243 Arnold MaHinson 1933-76 In 1950 the living of Binsey, which had been held since the dose of the nineteenth century with Wytham, was transferred to be held with St Frideswides. When Father Mallinson's long incumbency ended, the diocesan authorities, in accordance with the spirit of the times. prepared a scheme to close St Frideswides and to re-integrate the parish into St Thomas's. As a temporary measure, the Reverend Thomas Graham Comber, recently retired after work in South Africa and at St Helen's School, Abingdon, was made priest-in-charge. In a very short time, he discovered that there was sufficient local support to oppose the diocesan scheme. and the future of St Fricleswicie's was referred to the Church Commissioners. As a result, St Frideswide's has remained open and been considerably refurbished. The present ecclesiastical arrangement is that there is now a 'united benefice' of St Thomas with St Friclegwide and Bansey, the vicar of which fulfils the function which, at the turn of the centuzy, was fulfilled by six priests — three at St Thomas's, two at St Frideswidc's and one at Binseyr The Reverend Robert Maxwell Sweeney became the first vicar of the new benefice in 1979- In 1983. Drinkwaterrs vicarage was comprehensively restored at diocesan expense, which was partly met by selling off the rear of the house as a separate dwelling- A completely new vicarage was completed in 1985 and stands in what was the vicar's orchard, This house is not currently occupied by the vicar, Summary St.Frideswides church was not, and could not be, one of Samuel Teuton's most ambitious works, since it had to be designed with economy in mind. Nevertheless, it possesses considerable character and a sturdy simplicity, attributes which led Sir John Betjeman to summarise it briefly and effectively as "Toulon's neat little job'. At the consecration of the church in April 1872, the Bishop of tDicford drew a parallel between it arid the former priory of St Fddeswide: is to be hoped', he said, 'that I the handsome church now opened and dedicated to that Saint will not, like its predecessor, pass away'.

9 The Legend of St Frideswide (as recounted by Arnold MaHinson)

The legendary story is on this wise. When the most Reverend Princess ffrediswyde, Abbess of Oxford. disdaining the attentions of the enamoured prince of Mercia, Algar, had fled to Thornbury. or Binsey, she was pursued there by the Prince who had the temerity to attempt to take hold of her hand and was forthwith smitten blind by a great clap of lightning which flashed forth from a justly wrathful Heaven. A sentiment of sorrow then pierced the heart of the Maiden Princess when she saw her lover's plight and immediately there appeared before her St Margaret of Antioch with her little dragon and St Catherine of Alexandria with her wheel. little St Margaret told the saint to strike her Abbatial staff in the ground which when it was done there gushed forth a fount of water. The Princess's Lady Maidens then laved the eyes of luckless Algar with this healing fide and forthwith his sight was given back and seeing the error of his ways he stooped to the ground and kissed the hem of the Princess's robe thereafter returning to Oxford to lead a better and a wiser life.