| The
Parish Church of St James St. James's Road, Hampton Hill, TW12 1DQ (Parish Office 020 8941 6003) |
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| THE
HISTORY OF ST. JAMES'S CHURCH |
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| A
Thematic History Charities and Links | Choir | Church Plate and Textiles | Church Hall | Churchyard | Clock and Bells | Clergy | Groups | Finance | Magazine | Organ | Organist | Our Church in the Community | Parochial Church Council | Services | St. James's Church Building | St. James's Church Schools | Stained Glass Windows | Sunday School | Social Life | Tower and Spire | Vestry | Vicarage |
The History of the Vestry
A new vestry was added to
the church in 1874. In 1886 the vestry door was moved from the chancel
to the south aisle, with the December issue of the magazine reporting:
“This effects a great improvement
in many ways. Some extra room is gained in the chancel for choir seats,
the plain and rough wall which hitherto has disfigured the south aisle
is greatly improved by the introduction of the handsome carved doorway;
and on the occasion of festivals the clergy and choir will not be
compelled to face all weathers in their return from the heated Church
to the vestry. The greatest gain, however, perhaps is inside the vestry,
which by the alteration has been rendered capable of a far more convenient
arrangement.” While this was happening, work was also
carried out on repairing and improving the heating “apparatus”.
Read the article Alterations
in the Church.
In 1959 the vestry was cleared of dry rot by voluntary workers and later redecorated by the Young People's Fellowship. This transformed the cold, dingy, damp old vestry into a bright cosy room. The gift of a piano from an anonymous donor enabled it to be used as a song-room by the choir, and it became an excellent place for meetings and classes. There was another outbreak of dry rot in 1987 causing extensive damage to the floors at the east end. It is probable that after each attack fungi and spores lay dormant in the building. This time one of the cast iron Victorian rainwater heads had become blocked repeatedly and consequently rusted through, soaking the vestry wall. In the end, the rot, which came from an old timber member buried in the brickwork, affected only the lower ends of a few of the vestry roof members, which were fairly easily replaced. As the vestry had to be cleared for this work, it made sense to take advantage of the opportunity to carry out a long overdue redecoration. A vestments press for storing the clergy's vestments was bought in 2009 with some money left to the church, in memory of Margery Orton, and placed in the vestry. |
| Further Information |
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Associated pages on this website:
The Vestry |