THE PARISH CHURCH OF ST PETER (WITH ST ANDREW)
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(from the booklet by E J Redman, 1967)
THE PARISH CHURCH OF ST PETER
(WITH ST ANDREW)
HERSHAM is not by any means a new district but one which has its roots deep in history.
It is difficult in these days to imagine Hersham without either a meeting hall, School, Chapel or Church, and with a population of only about 500, yet this was the situation when Queen Victoria came to the Throne.
THE FIRST CHURCH
THE GREAT CHANGE started in 1839 when the spiritual and educational needs of Hersham were recognised by the building of a Church, described as a Chapel of Ease, and dedicated to The Holy Trinity. This was followed early in 1842 by a School for Infants. Both Church and School stood nearly opposite each other in Burwood Road and were the result of the efforts of the Vicar and Churchwardens of Walton-on-Thames, of which Hersham formed part. They were financed mainly by public subscription, and, in the case of the Church, with grants from the Incorporated Society for Building Churches, and from Diocesan Funds, with amounts of £250 and £500 respectively.
The cost of the Church including the furnishing and all the incidental charges is given as £2,565 l9s. ld.
The land on which it stood was a gift from William Holmes, Esq.
At the same time an Endowment Fund was started by the gift of £1,000 from Sir Henry Fletcher of Ashley Park "to provide a part payment to the salary of the Officiating Curate", and about £250 was raised by donations and bazaars to provide for a Clergyman’s Residence in Hersham.
The Church was dedicated on the 8th November, 1839, by the Bishop of Winchester, and served by a Curate under the control of the Vicar of Walton-on-Thames.
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Holy Trinity Church - Commemoration Stone |
The Committee report on the finished Church, published in 1840, states that "the Chapel contains 472 sittings of which 236 are free and for the accommodation of the numerous Poor Inhabitants in that part of the Parish", and "The improvement in this small hamlet, it is most satisfactory to the Committee to be able to state, is already so apparent, as to prove the high and important value which is set by the inhabitants themselves on the facility thus afforded them of attending Divine Worship".
The signatories to the report were:- Sir Richard Frederick, Bart., Sir Henry Fletcher, Bart., Henry Westcar, Esq., Richard Sharp, Esq., Rev. William North, Joseph Butt, Esq., and Rev. Thomas Hatch, Vicar.
After the building of the present Church in 1887, the old Holy Trinity Church was demolished in 1889. The fittings and ornaments, including the Organ and Pulpit were disposed of.
The Communion Plate was offered to, and was accepted by, the Vicar of Forth, Tasmania, as a complete new set in solid silver had been presented for the new Church by Elizabeth, Duchess of Wellington, who was then residing at Burhill Park. This is the set which is in regular use today.
The Organ was purchased by Mr. Sam Bircham for £100 for use in the Parish Church of Reepham, Norfolk, it having been built in 1867 by Bryceson Brothers of Ellis, is now still in use after 100 years of service.
There is no record of any provision for music in the first Church until 1845, when in January of that year we have a detailed description of a Barrel Organ being purchased for £60 from Flight & Son of King William Street, Strand, who were apparently well known builders of organs at that time. The record informs us that "It has three barrels which work on the improved plan-they do not require shifting". There were five tunes on each barrel and this instrument appears to have been in use for about twenty years.
The site of this first Church is now marked by a commemorative stone which was erected on the spot where the altar stood, and can be seen near the North wall of the Churchyard opposite Faulkners Road. It is squarish in appearance and carved with a circular sunray design surrounding the letters I.H.S., and over inscribed with "Holy Trinity Church 1839-1887".
THE SCHOOL
THE SCHOOL has undergone many changes and additions but a part of the original building still stands, although the old doors and windows have long since gone. The style of this building is very like that of the Chapel and it is noticeable that the old part of the School is lower pitched than the later additions. The control of the School was given over to the Surrey County Council in 1881 on a 99 years lease at a rental of 5/- per year. This sum is still regularly received by the Vicar.
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The Round Chapel |
THE ROUND CHAPEL
THE CONGREGATIONALISTS in Hersham were not far behind the Church when they decided to build a place for their worship in Hersham. This took the form of a circular chapel which stood on the site now occupied by the petrol filling station on the South side of Esher Road by the Barley Mow Roundabout.
It was officially opened on Tuesday, 27th August, 1844, and the first services held on the following Sunday. It is noted that comment was made by the Curate of Holy Trinity Church, in his diary under the date 1st September, 1844: "This was the first Sunday on which the independents had service at their new ‘Circular Chapel’, having had it opened on the preceding Tuesday with sermons from Mr. Tidman-Matheson, D.D. (America) and Mr. Young, M.A., Scotch University, - Our Congregation was not affected by it this morn, and I hardly ever witnessed the Church fuller than it was this evening".
This Chapel had not been used for worship for many years and it was eventually demolished in 1961 when the Esher Road was widened.