St John the Baptist, Wonersh
An Overview of the History
He has filled them with skill to do all
kinds of work as craftsmen, designers,embroiderers in blue, purple
and scarlet yarn and fine linen, and
weavers—all of them master craftsmen and designers.
This account of the history
of our church acknowledges and has drawn heavily upon information provided in
the following:-
Wonersh History Society
Parishes:
Wonersh - British History Online –
History of the Church by Revd A L
Brown.
The History of Antiquities of Surrey,
Manning & Bray 1811 (Manning visited
History of England (1708), John Aubrey
visited Wonersh circa 1690.
Surrey
History Service holds our archive collection (Registers etc)
The church of St John the Baptist, Wonersh,
For most of our history the Parish has been in the See of the ancient Diocese of Winchester in the Deanery of Stoke. From 1927 it became part of the newly formed Diocese of Guildford.
Under the legal
church framework of advowson, patrons and lay-rectors
have nominated the vicars over the years, with the patronage
resting today with Selwyn College,
The churchyard
was closed for burials in 1861, and a new churchyard opened at Shamley Green
the same year. The first part of
Background History of the Church of England
Useful site on Church Architecture Suffolk Churches - Glossary of terms
The First 500 Years - Pre Conquest
(Saxon) to 1536 Click here for more detail
The oldest part
of the present church is probably the north wall of the nave, this probably
being part of the original pre-conquest chapel built around 1050 if not
sooner. The stem of the font which is an archaic band
of ribbed work on coarse grit stone may also date to pre-conquest times. The Saxon church was destroyed and rebuilt
after the Norman conquest.
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The first recorded church was a Norman Chapel of the Hamlet of Wonersh or Wogheners, when it formed part of the parish of Shalford (or Scandeford). In 1224 it is spoken of in the Patent Rolls of Henry III as a chapelry. It probably consisted of a simple nave and small sanctuary of a rustic and unpretentious style. |
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In the early part of the 13th century the tower was added and the chancel rebuilt on a large scale. Wonersh constituted a separate parish sometime before 1295 being mentioned as an “ecclesia” or parish church in the Patent Rolls of Edward 1. Soon after the chancel was rebuilt, the church was enlarged by the addition of a chapel at the south-east corner, probably dedicated to the Blessed Virgin. In the early 15th century the nave was apparently re-roofed and the floor area almost doubled by the addition of a south aisle under a separate high gabled roof. The easterly part of the south aisle was known as the Tangley Chancel. On the north-east side of the chancel was the sacristy, considered by some as the most interesting feature of the church still existing. |
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The Chapel to the north of the chancel was added in the 15th Century, opening into the chancel with a wide richly moulded arch. A plain arch of the same date was cut through the east wall of the tower. It may have been a Guild Chapel for the weavers of Wonersh. Its’ east wall was built across the middle of the old sacristry, the western half of which was filled up. The eastern half of the sacristry remained as a lean-to outside the chapel. |
The Reformation Years - 1536 to 1755
Click here to see more detail
Little change took place to the exterior of the church however, starting with the Dissolution, the Protestant Reformation affected the church in many other ways..
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The north chapel steadily fell into disrepair and by the early 1700’s was in a state of dilapidation. At some date before 1779 it was being used as a vestry and the priest’s door into the chapel had been filled in. About this time the arches of the tower were also filled in and a doorway cut through the north wall of the tower. In 1751 the old
four sided shingled spire was taken down and replaced by the present
battlemented top storey, which bears that date. |
The Grantley Years - 1756 to 1900
Click here for more details
These years largely cover the period of influence of the Grantley family. Fletcher Norton, who became the 1st Lord Grantley, moved into Wonersh House adjacent to the church in 1756. By 1770 he had become the Lay-Rector and Patron of the Church and Lord of the Manor.
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By 1791 the church “being much gone into decay” could only be saved by drastic action. In the course of rebuilding 1793/4 most of the exterior was taken down, with the exception of the tower, the north walls of the nave and north chapel, and the side walls of the western & southern part of the chancel. A good sized square nave was built in the plain style of the period, and the dividing arches between the nave and south aisle demolished. The entire floor of the church was raised by about 18ins. The south chapel was pulled down and replaced on the same foundations by a brick mausoleum for the Grantley family. The chancel arches to north and south chapels were filled in with lath & plaster partitions. |
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The north chapel was clad in brick with a single round window to match the mausoleum on the southerly side. A new high pitched roof was added across both chapels and the shortened chancel on a north/south axis, with a small apse in the centre for the sanctuary. Low flat plastered ceilings were also placed throughout the church. The nave was arranged in the style of a meeting house, with a broad wooden gallery covering about one third of the nave against the west wall, box pews in rows and a triple tier pulpit against the north wall. |
The churchyard at Wonersh was closed for new burials in 1861 and burials took place at Shamley Green. In 1881 Shamley Green became a Parish in its own right, formed out of part of the parish of Wonersh.
The 5th
Lord Grantley sold all property in Wonersh in 1883 and in 1895 the positions of
Lay Rector and Patron passed to Lord Ashcombe.
Modern Times - The 20th Century Click here for more detail.
1901 Restoration
Proverbs
22:28 Remove
not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set.
When it was determined to refit the church a
scheme for careful restoration submitted by Charles Nicholson was
accepted. The chancel was restored to
its original length and height and was re-roofed. The north chapel was reclad in stone and the
roof and windows were copied from old paintings. The floor level retained at the previous
raised level, with a step up to the chancel and another two to the altar. The western half of the sacristry, filled in
when the north chapel was built, was
opened out, with arches constructed to support the chapel altar. The various lath & plaster partitions
were removed as were the ceilings in the chancel and nave. The Grantley mausoleum was restored as a
vestry and opened out to the church. Considerable structural repairs were
undertaken, especially to the tower, and the entire church was re-seated and
arranged in accordance with contemporary ideas of worship.
1901 to 1981
Internal improvement continued after the
restoration.
A small porch was added on the west wall of
the nave in 1913.
The church was first lit by electricity in 1927.
In 1934 Wonersh House was demolished, and afterwards the grounds adjacent to the church gifted in Trust to the Village, to be known a Church Green Trust
In 1937 the Parish of Blackheath and Chilworth was formed, comprising parts of the parishes of Wonersh, Shalford and St Martha’s.
In 1944, just 7 days before D Day, the Queen Mother (then wife of George VI), in her capacity as President of the UK Red Cross, attended a service at St Johns Wonersh in commemoration of the gift by Mrs Beatrice Cook of her family home, Barnett House, to the Red Cross.
1981, the 1988 Re-ordering to Date
Periods in the church history have previously been marked by major building or restoration work. However from 1981 with the arrival of Revd Tom Farrell there was a major revival in the fellowship and in 1988 further internal alterations to the church were necessary to make the best use of the whole church.
In 1995/6 a new porch complex was added to the west of the church.
In 1998 Blackheath was reunited with Wonersh becoming the Parish of Wonersh with Blackheath.
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St John the Baptist Wonersh in 2006. |
