The Last Sunday Service at St Augustine's was the 10am Service on Sunday 26th February 2006
Here are some images from that day
For a full history of St Augustine's please scroll donw
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The land between the Weybridge Road and the railway had little habitation before the 1860s except for some old cottages at Woburn Corner and around the railway station.
Between 1856 and 1890: Alexandra, Victoria and Albert Roads were cut in the meadows and houses built these as well as along Station Road.
In 1882 it was decided that a Church and infants school was needed at this end of Addlestone to complement the St Paul's buildings. St Augustine's School was built in Albert Road to fulfil both these needs - A small stone-faced structure with a stone bell tower, almost identical in design to All Saints Church in New Haw.
After a few years it was realised that the quarters were a little cramped for both uses - For instance there was no vestry and the priest had to robe in a house across the street.
A new church was erected in the Weybridge Road and consecrated on Fenruary 7th 1891 by the Bishop Suffragan, the Right Reverend G H Sumner. Built of iron it was originally styled St Augustine's Mission Church though it soon became known as 'The Tin Church'!
The Albert Road building continued as a school until its closure in 1967 after which it became a nursery annex of Darley Dene School. The building was finally closed and was demolished in 1988 for redevelopment of the site.
The twin building, All Saints, was another dual purpose church/school in the old Parish on Addlestone. However, this became exclusively a church and is now the Parish church of New Haw.
In 1939 the iron church, situated near what is now the entrance to Meadowlands was replaced by the present brick building in Albert Road next to the school site where services were first held. The church stands in large grounds which have been well used for a variety of lively social events.
There is a clean, white, well-proportioned interior with a large chancel dominated by the impressive figure of Christ the King suspended over its entrance - This originally came from Thorpe Church.
There is a fine carved wooden altar and the church is decorated by a series of plaques depicting the Stations of the Cross - Obtained from the Convent of Spelthorne St Mary at Thorpe.
There is no pulpit as such, but an ambos, or reading position, is situated either side of the chancel entrance.
The chamber organ is of particular interest - It may have been built as long ago as the mid 18th Century and is still largely in its original form.
On the West wall there is a 1914-1918 War Memorial in memory of Herbert & Arthur Joyce and of their comrades.
On the South side stands a statue in memory of Gordon Walter Spittle, choirboy of St Augustine's 'who fell asleep 29.09.1936'.
The choir stalls were given in 1959 in memory of Arthur Charles and Ellen Stephens.
The front benches are dedicated to the memory of Edwin, Edith Alice, Edith Vera & Arthur James Chipling and of Walter George and Alice Maud Wortt.
To the left of the alter there is an aumbry let into the wall for accommodating holy oils and below this a tablet in memory of Frederick Govan James Scott, priest-in-charge 1938 to 1946, who died in 1956.
Other items presented to the church include two items from the Community of St Peter at Laleham Abbey - A statue of Our Lady and A very fine monstrance made of silver on brass, which is used on occasion to display the sacrament.
ST. AUGUSTINE 'S CHURCH, ADDLESTONE
SOME EARLY MEMORIES
By David Stannard April 2005
1 I attended the old St Augustine 's Infants' School from 1940-1943, aged 5-8 years. There will still, no doubt, be many who remember being taught there by Miss Stephens and the Headmistress, Miss Cox, for they continued there for many years, I think, after I had moved on.
2 If I have a lasting memory of the school, it is probably the frequent trips to the two brick-built surface air raid shelters built on what was then rhe boundary between the school and the church. Although the air raid siren seemed to sound quie regularly I don't recall ever seeing anything of the “action” before the all-clear followed.
3 I quickly became aware of St Augustine 's Church from the frequent visits to the school by the priest-in-charge, although I had no idea at that time that it was virtually a new building. Notwithstanding the obvious connection between church and school, I have no recollection that we ever went into the church for any purpose. Perhaps the war situation had something to do with that.
4 The Clergy
The priest-in-charge from the outset was Fr E Scott. I remember him as a rotund kindly man, of medium height with a round face and decidedly receding hair. He wore a biretta – indeed he was seldom seen without it – and a black cassock (again, never without it) with a brown leather belt which he used to hoist up his cassock when riding his bicycle around the parish (no cars for clergy in those days!).
5 Father Scott lived alone in one of the detached houses in Station Road opposite the end of Victoria Road . My recollection says one of the two nearest the station.
6 At some point – probably about 1946 – Fr Scott was succeded by the Rev E Hutchings who, I think had a wife and also aspired to a small car. He, too, was a kindly man and altogether a much more jolly individual than Fr Scott.
7 The Verger
The verger was Mr James Beard, who lived with his wife, Edith, in no. 42 Albert Road. He was a retired craftsman – a carpenter I think. He lived for St Augustine 's Church. He kept it spotless and in good order. He acted also as sacristan (Edith kept the linen in good shape), tolled the bell before services and sang in the choir. Had there been a graveyard at St Augustine 's, I have little doubt that he would have dug the graves.
8 A few years after I had moved on from St. Augustine 's, probably the late 50's, I heard that Mr Beard (who hailed from Gloucester ) had been found dead in the vestry. I am sure he would not wish for a better way to go.
9 The Organist
From the outset, the organist at St Augustin's was Mrs E M (Mary, known as Mabel) Allsop. Mrs Allsop lived with her husband Mr E J Allsop, in Oatlands Park . Mr Allsop was a man of no great education but he was a trained engineer with a good eye for an opportunity. In the early 30's, he saw that the future was the motor car and he opened a garage near the half-way at Walton. The garage made money and Mr. Allsop resolved that he would retire at the age of 40, with a sum of £10,000 behind him (a pretty carefree amount in those days) and devote the rest of his life to good works. All this he achieved; he was elected to the old Walton & Weybridge Urban District Council and was three times its chairman (i.e. the district's leading citizen). He became a JP, serving on the Chertsey bench; and he was a generous benefactor at St Mary's Oatlands, where he was a long-serving churchwarden. He also presided over a regular Faith-Healing group which met at his Oatlands Park Home. He also co-founded the Walton Athletic Club with Peter Harding, who died only six months ago.
10 Thus, when St Augustine 's was built and the need for an organ was identified, Mr Allsop bought and installed the organ, and Mrs Allsop came with it as organist and stayed for – I would think - 20 years! The organ was originally pumped by hand and the choirboys used to take turns to perform the task. Subsequently, an electric blower was provided, paid for and installed (inevitably) by Mr Allsop.
11 Thus, far from being paid for her duties as organist. Mrs Allsop was in a position herself to finance various related activities. She paid the choirboys and she paid for any choir outing by coach – Hampton Court was a regular favourite . She also financed entirely the very successful boys' club set up in the mid 40's, of which more later.
12 Mrs Allsop was in no sense a brilliant organist, but she performed adequately on the single-manual organ for many years, and was excessively faithful in her task to the extent that she and Mr Allsop found it extremely difficult to take holidays. Finally, when I was about 12 years of age and had been singing in the choir for some five years, she taught me the rudiments of the organ so that after a short time I was at least able to play for Evensong and she could get away for a couple of Sundays. On return, she would bestow gifts on me far beyond the reach of my parents' pockets and sometimes to their annoyance or embarrassment.
13 Occasionally, the organ would be played by Mr Hugh Goold, second son of Mr Walter Goold (of whom more later) and who in 1948 was appointed conductor of the Rippenio mixed voice choir which became very successful and is still in existence today, giving concerts of the highest quality.
14 The Choir
it didn't take Miss Cox, the Headmistress, long to tell Father Scott that I could both sing and read fluently and I was very quickly drafted into St Augustine 's Choir at the age of seven. I have sung in a church choir for more than 60 years, and nothing has given me more satisfaction or pleasure in my life.
15 Save for Mr beard the choir was all treble boys, about ten of them when I joined, but the figure subsequently grew to about 20, and we were all very good friends. We wore black cassocks, white surplices and stiff white celluloid collars, held in place with a black bow tie. Later, the black cassocks were replaced with mid-blue ones (the change financed, I suspect, by the Allsops) and the collars disappeared.
16 Choir practices were held on Saturday mornings, and were usually followed by a game of football on the area to the north of the church.
17 For the most part, the choir sang only at Evensong – we took no part in whatever went on on Sunday evenings..
18 Lay Readers and Others
There were two Lay Readers who took services (Sunday Evensong) at St Augustine 's in the absence of both the Priest-in-Charge and the Vicar (Patterson).
19 The first was Mr Sidney W P Goold, a local solicitor, who was tall, extremely thin with a slow, drawling voice, who could have stepped straight out of Dickens. Because of his style his sermons went on for ever – in truth they could probably have been read in less than five minutes. He would climb into the pulpit, lean back against the wall and close his eyes for what seemed like lengthy periods. It seemed to be a contest between him and the congregation as to who would fall asleep first. For all that, he was akindly gentleman and much respected. He had a wife, who was, I recall, very much involved with St Paul 's Church, and three sons. I have earlier mentioned Hugh, the organist, who was a cost accountant at the old Weymann's factory. The youngest, Arthur, was in banking – he died at a comparatively young age many years ago. The eldest, Walter, was a sokicitor in the family firm – he died only a few years ago. The family lived in a large house called “Rothwell” at the top end of Ongar Hill, opposite the Combelands/Rowtown turn-offs.
20 The second Lay Reader was Mr Ken Kelland, a much younger man who, I think, used frequently to take services at All Saints, New Haw, which was then. of course, part of the parish of Addlestone. He was well liked and popular, and we choirboys were always pleased whe he took a turn. He and I have and affinity in the both attended Strode's Grammar School although he was, of course, a good many years ahead of me. I have confirmed with the Old Strodians' Association that Ken is still alive, although he must now be getting on in years.
21 Services were also taken from time to time by the Rev'd Desmond Morse-Boycott, who ran and directed an institution known as St Mary of the Angels Song School which was housed in one of the large houses standing back from the road on the right at the top of Woburn Hill. The Song School was a sort of Anglican Viennese Boys Choir! Morse-Boycott would take boys into his care (orphans perhaps, I know not) teach them to sing church music and the like, and then take them on singing tours to raise funds to keep the thing going. To us choirboys, he presented a terrifying image – tall, yet bent, black cassock, biretta, black cloak with a cowl and thick black-rimmed spectacles. He kept very strict discipline at the Song School and sought to impose it at St Augustine 's whenever he visited. I remember particularly that he always completed the service register in a very distinctive Gothic copperplate, using a broad nibbed pen and (of course) black ink!
22 The Congregation
The congregation at Evensong was never large, but I do recall some 'regulars'.
23 The first was a lady named Mrs Marcy (I think) who was clearly better placed financially than the St Augustine 's faithful as a whole and who lived in one of the big houses on Woburn Hill. She would come, with a friend, every Sunday evening, complete with expensive hats, clothes, fur coats and she would spend the whole service beaming at the choirboys and generally giving the impression that she would like to take them all home after the service and eat them.
24 Then there were, in complete contrast, the Misses Whites, both tall, thin, angular and anything but elaborately dressed. They were both pillars of St Augustine 's and one or both of them were involved in running the Sunday School. They were part of the White family who owned/ran Coxes Lock Mill and lived in a cottage situated between the mill and the railway line, long since demolished, I expect.
25 Finally, There were the girls from Princess Mary's Village Homes, some of whom would march down, two-abreast, to St Augustine's every Sunday eveving with a member of staff, and would sit in the front row of seats trying to make the choirboys laugh. We choirboys were never quite sure why thes girls were at the Village Homes, and those people who did know always seemed very reluctant to tell us!
26 The Boys' Club
the Boys' Club was set up in1945 or thereabouts and ran successfully for about ten years, by which time the numbers had largely outgrown it. It was largely for the benefit of St Augustine 's choirboys, although we were allowed to introduce ‘suitable' friends from outside the church. It was financed by Mr & Mrs Allsop, who provided both a billiards table and a table tennis table and other desirable items. The club met on Wednesday evenings in the school room for two hours, with properly organized ‘leagues' for both table tennis and snooker – a great success and never any trouble. All the club equipment was kept behind the organ in the church (it may still be there?) and had to be carried to and fro before and after club meetings.
27 The Boys' Club also ran, for several seasons, a very successful football team, playing its matches on a friendly basis, with other local church choirs and clubs. The shirts (royal blue with white sleeves) were again paid for by Mrs Allsop who, even at an advanced age, would attend all our matches and, when convenient, take us all out afterwards to afternoon tea!!
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These notes cover some of the history and events of St Augustine 's Church during the first fifteen years of its existence. I broke my regular connection in1954 to join the choir of St Mary's, Walton-on-Thames, where I had several friends of my own age and which had a very good four-part choir, something which St Augustine's, sadly, never looked likely to aspire to. [In the early 2000's this was actually achieved while Paul Thurtle was organist/choirmaster.]. I sang at St Mary's for nearly fifty years and was twice ‘stand-in' choirmaster for a total of eight years!
D.S.