A Brief History of the Churches in
Our church buildings have seen many changes over the decades, each change enabling it to fulfil its role within the community, and we continue to build on the past whilst living in the present and preparing for the future.
The Church of St Giles, Great Hallingbury
There has been a church in Great Hallingbury since the 11th century. All that clearly remains from this date is the magnificent Chancel arch made entirely from Roman bricks and a small single late 11th century window light with a round head of Roman bricks at the western end of the south wall in the nave. The Chancel arch was lovingly restored when the whole church was enlarged and underwent complete restoration by John Archer Houblon in 1874.
The tower at the west end of the nave dates from the 14th century whilst the octagonal spire is a copy of a later addition destroyed by lightning in 1738. A peal of five bells are hung in the belfry, the oldest one having been cast in 1542, the others dating from the 18th and 19th centuries.
Prior to the restoration in 1874 there was a Rood Loft, an unusual feature in a small country church. The former entrance to this is represented by a modern door in the left arch of the Chancel arch. From this Rood Loft there also remains a Piscina which would have originally served the Rood Altar, this can be seen in the right of the Arch and has a triangular head of Roman brick and scalloped basin of Barnack stone. The photographs are of the interior of the church showing the Norman archway made of Roman bricks, the piscina mentioned above can be seen and a detail of the painted east wall..
The funeral helms on either side of the Arch probably date from the 16th century and were originally above the Morley tomb in the north wall of the Nave. The Morleys were Lords of the Manor from the early 14th century until the mid 17th century when the titles fell into abeyance, there being no issue. The family played a prominent part in English history one having been Standard Bearer to Richard III and another playing a leading part in the breaking up of the Gun Powder plot.
The rebuilding of the church in 1874 almost doubled its size with the addition of the North Aisle and Porch. The Reredos was a copy of that in Beverley Minster and John Archer Houblon and his wife travelled there to see the original. The reredos was completed in 1889 and the decoration on the East Wall surrounding it was commissioned in memory of John's wife, Georgina.
The Organ commissioned in 1874 was built by Foster and Andrew of Hull to the design of Professor Oakley, then Professor of Music at Edinburgh. At the Special Service to mark the re-opening of the church on 23rd December 1874 the organ was played by the professor's brother, a local resident. It is an extremely fine specimen of a two manual with tracker action organ and has survived over 100 years having given very little trouble.
These two photos are of a tile representation of the post-resurrection Emmaus meal which is to the left of the Lord's Table as one looks to the east end of the church and of the main south window.
The Church of St Mary the Virgin, Little Hallingbury
It is almost certain that the first church on the site of the present church of St Mary the Virgin was a wooden one built by the Saxons between 1035 and 1050. Unusually the church is mentioned in the Domesday book compiled in 1085.
The oldest existent parts of the church are the South Wall and part of the West wall having been part of the Norman building built around 1090. The South door has a Norman arch made from Roman brick from various Roman Villas that were in area. The Chancel was a 13th century addtition to the Norman building.
Worthy of note is the 14th century porch by the South door. During the same century the 3 light window in the south wall was added along with the single light window at the western end of this same wall. A bell was also installed, to "call the faithful to church". By 1712 there were an additional two bells and it was felt necessary to build a new bell turret complete with steeple and weathervane to house these. This was in almost the exact form that can be seen today.
Another area of interest is the small graveyard adjacent to St Mary's churchyard. This belongs to the Governors of Charterhouse and since 1929 has been designated as an area for the burial of all deceased brothers of Charterhouse if they or their families so wish. The reason for this being here is St Mary's connection with this society founded by Thomas Sutton, at that time "the richest commoner in England". He purchased the manor of Little Hallingbury in 1588. His intention was to found a school for boys and a hospital for "poverty stricken gentlemen soldiers or merchants ruined by piracy or shipwreck and who were good servants of the Queen". These were to have been situated in Little Hallingbury but as a result of his wife dying he changed his mind and instead they were established at Howard House in London. The manor of Little Hallingbury, along with other properties belonging to him were used to support these institutions later to be known as Charterhouse. The Society of Charterhouse is the Patron of Little Hallingbury and since 1669 has had the right of appointing a Rector.
These are three of St.Mary's windows. The Risen Christ window is behind the Lord's Table.
In the 19th century it was felt necessary to enlarge the capacity of the church because of an increased population. The North wall of the Nave and another porch on the North side were removed and a new aisle built on the north side of the church with a sloping roof. From plans only recently discovered, these alterations also included the dismantling of two galleries which were directly under the current bell turret. A new Chancel arch was created with the addition of a small vestry to the south of the Chancel and a Norman style font at the west end of the church. In 1885 a small organ was fitted using part of the vestry. Much of the internal furniture dates from this time.
Within the last five years plans were made and have now been fulfilled for the building of an extension to the then vestry. There is now a larger room in which small groups can meet for worship or other events, in which there is a small kitchen area for providing refreshments and in which there are toilet facilities.