Kellys_Berks_Bucks&Oxon_1915_0150.jpg

134

NEWBURY.

B E R K S H IR E .

w estern tow er of three stages, w ith a battlem ented
parapet and octagonal turrets at the angles ; these have
p yram idal sum m its w ith vanes and are surrounded by
croeketed p in n a c les; the tower contains 8 bells and a
clock ; the chancel is lined w ith D erbyshire alabaster on
flat panelling and opens to the ancient chapels by wide
depressed a rc h e s ; the reredos has seven panels and
crocheted heads and a g ilt background b earing the
sacred m onogram and fig u re s ; there is also a reredos
inserted in m em ory of the Rev. E . I. G ardiner, rector
187S-1901; there are three sedilia and a piscina, all
w ith tria n gu la r crocheted can o p ies; the nave, separated
from the chancel by a low panelled screen w ith g ilt iron
gates, is of five bays and has arcades of four arches on
clustered co lu m n s; it opens to the tower by a lofty
arch :
all the windows are stained, and include
m em orials to Bishop W ilb erforce; the Rev. James
Leslie Randall M .A. rector of N ew bury 1857-78, and
his daughter. Rebe R a n d a ll; E dm und A rbuthnot, of
Newtown House, H ants, 1873, and E lizabeth his w ife,
1866; and to th e Rev. W. H. M ajendie M .A. v icar of
Speen from 1819, and ruTal d ea n ; the font is m odern
and has a lo fty and elaborately carved pyram idal cover
w ith figures of the apostles under canopies and is sus­
pended
from a b rack et of w rou gh t iron w o r k ; the
Jacobean p u lp it is also rich ly carved in two rows of
p a n e ls ; it is painted a dark green relieved w ith gold
and stands on a stone b a s e ; there is a brass eagle
le c te r n : on th e walls of the tower are brasses to
John Sm alwood, alias W inchcom be, m entioned above,
oh. 15th Feb. 1519, and A lice bis w ife ; to Mr. H ugh
Shep ley, a native of Prescot, Lan cs, 1526, and rector
here. ob. 1596; F ran cis Trenchard, of Norm anton.
W ilts, esq. ob. 1635; and to G eorge W idley, “ M r. of
A rts and m inister of G od’s W ord,” ob. 23 Sept. 1641 ;
there is a m ural m onum ent to E lizabeth C atherine
M aria
Sheldon, and in the south chancel aisle, a
m em orial to John H inton A .M . above 40 years rector,
1720, and Joan his w ife, 1712 ; also a m onum ent to John
K im ber, alderm an, who erected alm shouses and be­
queathed various ch arities to the town, 1793 ; on the
exterior south w all of the chancel is a m onum ent w ith a
double canopy supported on Ionic pillars, within which
is a la rge kneeling figure of a man cased in half­
arm our and wearing a r u f f ; and on th e other side three
fem ales, also k n e e lin g ; below these are eleven c h ild re n ;
on the frieze is inscribed “ G riflinus C urteyes, Nov. 3.
1587,” and above it is a shield bearing th e arm s and
crest of C u r te y s : on th e east chancel wall is a large
im paled shield w ith crest and m an tlin g ; d exter, erm .
on a chief, 5 ro u n d les; sinister, 7 garbs, 4, 2 and 1 :
the church was thoroughly restored in 1867, under
the direction of Mr. W oodyer, arch itect, at a cost of
nearly ¿15,00 0, and re-opened Oct. 8, 1867, by the late
Bishop W ilberforce, and durin g the period 1875-91 other
repairs w ere effected at a cost of ¿ 2 .4 4 4 ; in 1893 th e
walls of the south chapel were decorated, a fine oak
screen, th e g ift of Aid. W. G . A dey. erected, and a retable of Sienna m arble, w ith m edallions of lapis lazuli
and jasp er, was placed above the communion table :
there are sittings for about 1,100: some of these are
appropriated, b ut the church is entirely free to all
parishioners five m inutes before the hour of com m encing
each service. The registers date from the year 1538.
The liv in g is a rectory, net yearly value ¿360. w ith resi­
dence, in the g ift of the Bishop of Oxford, and held since
1901 by the Rev. Lionel Robert M ajendie M .A . of C h rist
C hurch, Oxford, and surrogate.
The ecclesiastical parish of St. John the E van gelist
was form ed Oct. 25, 1859, out of portions of the parishes
of N ew bury and G reenham . The church, erected by
M iss H ubbard in m em ory of her parents, from th e de­
signs of M r. W . B utterfield, arch itect, and consecrated
in 1860, is a structure of brick in the Decorated style,
consisting of chancel, nave, north aisle, south porch and
a w estern tu rret containing 2 bells : the east and west
windows and five others are stained : there are 650 sit­
tin gs. The register dates from th e year i860.
The
livin g is a vicarage, net yearly value ¿250 , w ith resi­
dence. in the g ift of the Bishop of Oxford, and held since
1912 by the Rev. A lfred George Pisani Baines M .A. of
K eble College, O xford, who is also chaplain of the w ork­
house and the hospital, and warden of S t. Leon ard’s
chapel, the “ L itte n ,” since 1910. Th ere are two district
churches in the parish, viz. : St. L u k e’s, W ash common,
and S t. Bartholom ew’ s, E ast fields.
The C atholic C hurch , dedicated to S t. Joseph, is a
sm all b u ild in g of red brick, erected in 1864, and has
150 sittings.
The B ap tist chapel, N orthbrook street, was first
founded in 1640; the present building, erected in 1859,
will seat 500 persons. Th e Congregational chapel, N orth ­

[ b e l l y ’s

brook street, founded in 1662, will hold 700 persons.
The Prim itive M ethodist chapel in Bartholom ew street,
erected in 1878, w ill seat 430 persons, the other at
Stroud green, of red brick, erected in 1874, has 126
sittin g s. The Presbyterian chapel (U n itarian ), N orth­
brook street, erected in 1697, is of red brick, and affords
600 sittings.
The W esleyan chapel, Northbrook street, was erected
in 1837-8, and has sittin g s for 800 persons.
The B reth ren ’s M eeting room , N orthcroft lane, for­
m erly the old B aptist chapel, w ill hold 300 persons.
Th e C em etery, on the Newtown road, is about 6 acres
in extent, w ith two m ortu ary chapels, and is m anaged
by a com pany.
The M unicipal buildings, occupying an im portant posi­
tion in Mansion House street, and on the west side of
the M arket place, erected during 1876 and 1877, form
part of a schem e for an entire rebuildin g of the p ublic
offices and town h a l l: the principal feature of the front
elevation is a lo fty tow er, w ith illum in ated clock, the
lower stage of w hich form s the principal entrance,
opening into a spacious vestibule, from w hich a broad
staircase conducts to the principal floor, the entrance
to th e offices bein g in Mansion H ouse street. T h e Old
Town hall was dem olished in 1909 for the purpose of
widening Mansion House street and the com pletion of
the M unicipal buildings. The m unicipal in sign ia in ­
clude two fine m aces, one of w hich dates from the
S tuart period, the other bein g som ewhat later.
Th e Corn E xchange, standing on the east side of the
M arket place, was erected in 1861-2, at a cost of about
¿6,000, and opened on the 4th of June, 1862: it is a
buildin g of stone in th e C lassic style, the front elevation
being relieved by four pilasters of the C orin th ian order,
supporting a pedim ent.
Close by the church is the parish room, a stru ctu re
of red b rick, erected in 1384, and includin g a v e rg e r’s
house, strong room, and two rooms for m eetings.
Th e C onservative C lub, erected in 1907, is an edifice
of red brick w ith stone dressings, and possesses m eet­
ing, billiard, reading, dining and card ro o m s; p art of
the prem ises are occupied by a L adies’ C onservative
Club.
A very im p ortan t wool m arket was established here
on the 30th June, 1862, on which occasion there was
deposited 2,300 tons of w o o l; it is held annually on the
first S aturd ay in July.
Th e M arket day is Thursday.
The 4th Septem ber fair is held in a small meadow
on the south of the town, near which is another field,
in w hich th e horse and cow fairs are h e ld : there is a
large h irin g m arket held in the M arket place, on the
first T h u rsd ay after Old M ichaelm as day.
Th ere is an iron clock tower in the Broadway, 30 feet
in h eig h t, w ith four illum inated dials, four ornam ental
b racket lam ps and two drinking fountains, erected at a
cost of ¿278 5s. subscribed by the townspeople. A
Russian gun also stands in the Broadway.
In th e M arket place stands a m onum ent to th e la te
Queen V icto ria, presented in 1902 to his native town byG eorge Sanger esq.
Th e H ospital of St. Bartholom ew, an ancient founda­
tion, to which a charter was g ran ted by K in g John,
1200-15, and w hich is known as “ K in g John’s C ou rt,” is
still standing. In 1215, the k in g granted to the hos­
pital a two days’ fair for its support, and this fair is
still held yearly, and is opened by the town clerk or
his deputy w ith certain quain t fo rm a litie s; and the
profits thereof are paid to the a lm sfo lk : on th is occa­
sion also a penny is collected from every licensed house
in the town. In the reign of Edw . V I. the G ram m ar
School was en grafted on the foundation of th e hospital,
and both are now adm inistered under a schem e which
was fram ed in the year 1883: the seal of the hospital is
of brass, and circular in form ,
and exh ib its two con­
joined crosses p a ttie
between four sm all stars, and
round the
m argin the legend *DO M VS— ST. B A R TH O LO M E I— IN — N E W R V R Y . The charity has an in­
come of ¿1,058 a year, w hich supports 24 alm shouses
and the G ram m ar School.
St. Leonard’s chapel, th e “ L itten ,” was originallyused as the chapel of K in g John’ s Alm shouses,
founded in the 13th c e n t u r y ; the Rev. A lfred G eorge
Pisani Baines M .A. vicar of S t. John’s, was appointed
warden in 1912: at this chapel the fam ous “ Jack of
N ew bury ” is said to have been m arried. F u ller, in his
“ W orthies of E n glan d ,” describes him as “ the m ost
considerable clothier (w ithout fancy or fiction) England
ever beheld ; ” he kept 100 looms at work in his own
house, and in the expedition against Jam es IV . of