Consecration of the new Church at Froxfield.
The ceremony of consecrating the new parish church of St. Peter, at Froxfield, near Petersfield, was performed by the Lord Bishop of Winchester on the 11th inst. his lordship preaching a most eloquent and appropriate sermon in his usual impressive style, after which a handsome collection was made. The day being extremely fine, a large number of visitors from the neighbourhood was present to witness the important ceremony, and so great was the crowd that, notwithstanding every arrangement was made to afford as much accommodation as possible, the sacred edifice could not give standing room for more than two-thirds of those who were present. We noticed fifteen clergymen present, most of whom belong to the neighbourhood, and regret that we are unable to give their names. Among the visitors and resident inhabitants were:—Miss Legge and the Misses Percival, C. Scott, Esq. and Mrs. Scott, Mrs. and Miss Greenwood, J. J. Maberley Esq. and Mrs. Maberley, Mrs. J. M. Sumner, Miss Kemp, Mrs. and Miss Bradford, J. Martineau, Esq., Miss J. Martineau, Mrs. and Miss Silvester, Mr. and Mrs. J. Harmsworth, C. J. Richards, Esq., Mrs. Roberts; Messrs. W. A. Thorpe, W. Jarman, W. Sharp, and J. Allam; Mrs. and the Misses Garnier, &c.
Most of our readers will remember that the foundation of the new church was laid in June, 1861, by J. Martineau, Esq. of Basing Park, since which time the works have been proceeded with, and were finally brought to completion about the beginning of last month. The sacred edifice, which was deservedly much admired, presents a very handsome exterior, and together with the rural scenery of the neighbourhood presents quite a unique appearance. The building consists of a nave, 67ft. by 21ft.; a north aisle, 10ft. wide; a chancel, 24ft. 6in. by 16ft.; and a vestry. The nave and aisle are separated by a row of five arches,, and perhaps not the least interesting feature of the interior of the church is that the piers, capitals, and archstones of three of these arches (which are round in form) have been brought from the old building and reconstructed, without any renewal even of the ancient surface of the stone; they belong to the Norman period of architecture, and are interesting relics. The two remaining arches nearest the chancel (which are new) are pointed, of the early English period, which is, in fact, the style of architecture adopted throughout the whole building. Simplicity of detail seems to have been aimed at, rather than rich decoration; as a natural consequence, carving has been almost entirely avoided. The seats, pulpit, reading desk, and altar table are pine wood varnished. The font is of Caen stone. All the roof timbers are being stained and varnished. The walls are composed of flints with Bath stone dressings to the windows and quoins. The roofs are slated, and there is a tower at the south-west corner, the lower part of which forms the entrance porch. There are 350 sittings, all free. The total cost of the building has been under £2300. Mr. E. H. Martineau, of London, is the architect, from whose designs, and under whose superintendence all the works have been carried out. The contractors were Messrs. G. W. and H. Lewis, of Westmeon.
After the ceremony of consecration was over upwards of 300 labourers and their wives sat down to a substantial dinner, the cost of which was defrayed by a subscription amongst their employers, and about 130 children were regaled with tea and cake in a tent on Mr. Churchwarden Thorpe’s meadow, who, with his coadjutor Mr. Jarman, and several other parishioners, were most attentive in administering to the wants of their humbler brethren. We must not omit to mention, that the Rev. E. Docker, the esteemed curate, was most assiduous in his endeavours that everything should be carried out in the best and most becoming manner; and the complete success that resulted from his efforts must have been highly gratifying to the reverend gentleman. We are quite sure that the 11th of Nov. will be a day long to be remembered in the annals of Froxfield, and possibly many a lad who joined in the sacred and festive scenes of that day may with pride, and we trust with thankfulness, at future day look back and say. ‟I was present at the consecration of Froxfield Church, and a glorious day we had.”
We had almost omitted to mention that the funds for the erection of the new church were provided partly by a grant from the Incorporate and Diocesan Church Building Societies. It is to be regretted that there is still a balance of £130 required to defray the total expense. After the consecration, the Bishop and about 60 of the neighbouring clergy and gentry lunched with Mr. Martineau, at Basing Park.