www.wonershchurch.com

Parish of Wonersh with Blackheath

St Martin’s, Blackheath, Surrey

Unless the Lord builds the house its builders labour in vain.

BibleGateway.com - Psalm 127;

This Church of England church has stood at the heart of the village for a little over 100 years and it seeks to serve and support the community of Blackheath through prayer and in practical ways. Services take place each week on Sundays at times displayed on the notice board, when all are welcome. Our patron saint is St Martin of Tours.

The church was dedicated on 26 July 1893 by Bishop Thorold of Winchester. The initiative to build a church to serve the growing community in Blackheath was taken by Sir William Roberts-Austin K.C.B. a former Deputy Master of the Royal Mint who was a resident of Blackheath and a Lay Reader in Wonersh. It is named after St Martin’s Canterbury with which Sir William’s family had connections, and in the churchyard of which he was afterwards buried in 1902. Before the building was complete, services were conducted fortnightly in the cottage that is now the vestry of the church and worshippers were summoned by the ringing of a large dinner bell by his servant.

The original idea was to use the nave of the new church as a village hall on weekdays, however this was avoided when Mr Henry Prescott gave the funds to construct the present Village Hall. He also gave the Church the Chancel Screen, the organ and securities as the endowment for the Curate–in-charge.

A scheme was launched in 1928 uniting Blackheath with Chilworth, comprising portions of the parishes of Wonersh, Shalford and St Martha’s into a separate Church District. After a trial period it was decided to continue the scheme and in 1932 fundraising was started to establish an Endowment Fund to form a Parish. This was achieved in 1937 and Consecration by the Bishop of Guildford took place in September of that year. To see the list of Curates-in-charge and Vicars, select Vicars.

St Martin’s has since 1998 formed part of the Parish of Wonersh with Blackheath and shares its’ Vicar and Ministry Team.

Ours is a living church and we welcome your support. We need to undertake repairs and restoration work to St Martin’s and encourage you to look at the Blackheath Appeal 2008.

This beautiful little church was designed by the Art Nouveau architect Charles Harrison Townsend and was a prime example of the work of the Arts and Crafts Movement It is said to have been modelled on an Italian wayside chapel, but it is admirably suited to its surroundings on an English heath. It is in basilican form (oblong hall) instead of the traditional cruciform (cross shape).

The Arts and Crafts movement pursued sincerity and simplicity, avoiding lofty and grand design and employed local materials such as the candleholders and lectern, made from ironstone from the heath and smelted at the Royal Mint.

The alabaster work lining the chancel walls and sanctuary arch is the work of Messrs John Daymond and Son of London. It was for the most part a memorial to Sir William Roberts-Austin who lived in Blackheath, and whose initiative it was to build a church to serve the growing community. A wall tablet records:- To the Glory of God And in memory of Sir William Roberts Austen KCB,FRS,DCL To whose generous and devoted efforts The erection of this church was largely done His friends completed the decoration in 1904 Born March 3 1843 – Died Nov 22 1902 There is a second wall tablet on the opposite side:- To the Glory of God and in memory of Henry Warner Prescott Born January 15 1837 Died November 10 1926 For thirty years a humble worshiper in this church I had rather be a door keeper in the house of my God Than to dwell in the tents of ungodliness. Psalm84 Verse 11 The crucifix window in the pulpit recess of Christ on the Cross is by F Hamilton Jackson, and this and the copper pulpit desk are in memory of John Bell, the inventor of asbestos. He lived at Lockner and worshipped in this church.

The Roll of Honour for Blackheath is on the north wall with a wooden enclosure outside the church which contains some additional information:-

Roll of Honour

Enclosure outside St Martin’s

1914 – 1918

In Memoriam

			Additional text outside church
Frank Frederick Hayward	L Cpl 2 nd Bt. The Queens	1914 Belgium	Aged 21. The Queens (S Africa & Bermuda) Missing Nov 7^th. 1916 at Ypres after retaking the trenches. “Cheer up there’s a rainbow in the sky”
James Charles Mant	Ld St RN HMS Invincible	1916 Jutland	Aged 29. May 31^st 1916. Which sank at the battle of Jutland. “So long but not goodbye.”
William Charles Callingham	Pte 74 th Canadian Regiment	1916 France	Aged 32. “Died of wounds received in the trenches”
Leonard George Edwards	Pte 7 th Bt The Queens	1916 France	Aged 21. Killed at Ferincourt July 15^th. “He in a short while fulfilled a long while”
Frank Hardwicke	Pte 1 st Bt 29 th London Regiment	1917 France
Henry James Hayward	Pte 6 th Bt The Queens	1917 France	Aged 23. Died of wounds receives bringing a message as a Queens runner.
Charles Basil Mortimer Hodgson	Capt 3 rd Bt The Queens	1918 Egypt	Died in Cairo hospital April 12th 1918 from wounds received in Palestine March 9^th. Served in France, Gallipoli and Palestine.
Cyril Arthur Godwin Hodgson	Capt R N Devon Hussars	1918 Egypt	Royal North Devon Hussars. Died in Cairo hospital March 20^th 1918 after serving in Gallipoli, Egypt and Palestine.

Glory to God in the Highest on Earth Goodwill Toward Men

Further details of those on the Roll of Honour may be found by searching the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

This Roll of Honour is repeated on a wooden enclosure outside the church, together with names of others possibly those who also served. The war dead are also commemorated on the war memorial situated up on the heath. Most of the names are also remembered on the Roll of Honour at St John the Baptist Wonersh.

The font “In memory of Elizabeth Oliveria Prescott” was given by Misses L E and O Prescott.

The striking wall paintings were painted in 1894-95 by Anna Lea Merritt, an American artist trained in Europe, who developed a style used by Pre-Raphaelite painters of her day. She was the first woman artist to have work acquired by the Tate collection (‘Love Locked Out’ which echoes Holman Hunt’s ‘Light of the World’ can still be seen at the Tate Gallery). The technique used for the wall painting was revolutionary, using silicon based paints for the first time to resist the effects of damp and deterioration. This explains remarkable success in retaining the lightness and quality of the colours. She and Sir William Roberts-Austin presented a paper on the new technique to the Society of Arts, chaired by Holman Hunt, in 1895 (Mural Painting by the Aid of Soluble Silicates and Metal Oxides, with Examples chiefly from St Martin’s Wonersh - Journal of the Society of Arts Vol XLIV December 6^th 1895 pp39-51).

Virgin and Child in the manger With St Joseph keeping back the cows while shepherds guided by angels came in, adoring. Matthew 1-2;	Christ on the Mount of Olives The three disciples asleep at his feet. Matthew 26:36-46;

The Resurrection, Christ appearing to Mary Magdalene. Note the large flat block of stone, like a millstone fitted to run in grooves below and above The preparatory oil painting was “Watchers of the Straight Gate” Matthew 28:1-7;	The Raising of the Widow’s Son Luke 7:11-16;

St Martin giving his coat to the beggar. With the churches of St Martin’s Canterbury and St Martin’s Wonersh	Angel bearing symbol of the Eucharist “I will give you a crown of eternal life”	St John the Baptist preaching in the wilderness. Shown as an unusually youthful figure.

The paintings depict a number of scenes from the Life of Christ. She describes painting these in her book of memoirs.

These paintings ensure that even the walls of the church point to the central focus of the Christian faith; to Jesus Christ the Son of God who died on a cross and rose again for us. As a parish our purpose is to know Christ and to make him known and this beautiful building serves us well in this mission.

www.wonershchurch.com