1993 marked the 130th anniversary of our parish. Our archives show just how much our parish had changed during those years, and yet the light of God's love was still to be seen in our community - in the church and outside.

So it was decided to celebrate 130 years of this parish giving and receiving God's love - the community in which it is set.

Celebrations by and for the whole parish were held - services, drama, music, parties, treasure hunts, barbeques, beating the bounds and much, much more.

Programme of Events
Sunday 4 09.30 David, Bishop of London, to preside at Parish Communion and the Blessing of the Foundation Stone of our new Church Hall
Wednesday 7 14.00 Women’s Forum Invitation Service and Tea
Thursday 8 19.00 Hampton Hill Junior School Summer Concert in Church
Friday 9 19.30 The Song of the Hill in Church
Saturday 10 Parish Treasure Hunt
Sunday 11 15.00 The Song of the Hill in Church
Wednesday 14 18.00 Cricket Match
Friday 16 20.00 Concert in Church
Saturday 17 Open Day at Church and Pig Roast
Monday 19 20.00 Looking Back, Looking Forward, in Church
Tuesday 20 Quiz Night, Hampton Hill Junior School
Wednesday 21 Women’s Forum, 130 years of St. James’
Saturday 24 Parish Splash, Hampton Pool
Sunday 25 ST. JAMES’S DAY
11.00 Parish Communion with the Archdeacon of Middlesex, followed by Lunch in Church
School paintings will be on show in Church throughout

Source: The Spire Magazine - 1993 June

Celebrations
Our celebrations included cricket and a concert, with a history talk, a quiz and a parish splash, and were rounded off with an Open Day at the Church, and then, a special St. James’s Day service.

Fitz Wygram’s XI came second to The Hampton Hill C.C. in the Victorian Cricket match - but only just. The latter made 98 for 5 in reply to the FW’s 96 for 4. The FW’s included both regular members of St. James’ and other friends - even an Australian! Our performance owed much to the (Alan) Taylor and the (Ian) Robinson families.

At the concert, we enjoyed some wonderfully professional singing from the accomplished Jacqueline Nelmes, and lovely violin playing from Lennert den Boer (we would have liked more!). Stuart Ward with his sopranino recorder gave us eighteenth century ‘bird songs’, and David Taylor sang two Biblical songs by Dvorak with real understanding and sympathy. Marcela’s organ playing was, as usual, of a high standard, and the programme she had carefully assembled was much appreciated.

Over ninety people attended the talk on the history of Hampton Hill given by Margery Orton, helped by Helen Taylor; they displayed great interest in what was said and in the wonderful old slides that were shown, so much so that it was difficult to bring the evening to a close!

Ably devised and presented by the Rowett family, who had clearly put a tremendous amount of work into the preparations, the Quiz evening was a great success and much enjoyed by all. How did it come about that Brian’s team won? Was undue influence exerted?

A rather rainy evening for the ‘Parish Splash’ meant that we did not have the promised barbecue at the Hampton Pool, but about 30 people actually swam in the pool, and quite a few enjoyed the impromptu disco/barbecue kindly provided by Coryn and Ian Robinson at their home.

Many people visited the Church for the Open Day, which was co-ordinated by Mona Gow. They had refreshments, climbed the spire, enjoyed the exhibitions of painting by local artists and spent a long time looking at the display of old photographs organised by Margery Orton, and the selection of wedding photographs, old and new, assembled by Helen Taylor. The weather was good which contributed to the pleasures and happiness of the day, as it did to the great success of the evening’s Pig Roast, organised by Richard Melville and his cousin Vlado who did the cooking (which took five hours). All consumed with relish roast pig, salad and rolls, and some danced afterwards on the lawn!

The Festival Eucharist, at which the Archdeacon preached as our own special guest of the morning, was followed by a bring-and-share lunch, where the food was all delicious and consumed to the last crumb. We were privileged to have both the Bishop and our Archdeacon as visitors and preachers at our opening and closing Eucharists.

Our great thanks go to all who helped to make the Celebrations a success, specially to those already mentioned, to many others whose contributions were not so apparent, and most especially to the Lloyd family under whose able care all the refreshments at all the events were so much enjoyed.

Source: Margaret Taylor, The Spire Magazine - 1993 September

The Visit of the Bishop of Lonbon
Walking to church through the churchyard for Parish Communion on a beautiful Sunday morning (3rd July) it was easy to see that something special was happening. For one thing a large block of stone had appeared overnight outside the church doors, and secondly a large crowd of people had gathered outside - all talking, laughing in a very happy throng, . . . cubs, scouts, brownies were there, so too was the choir.

The occasion was a very special one. In the year of the 130th anniversary of the founding of St. James’, Hampton Hill, David Hope, Bishop of London, was coming to bless the foundation stone of the new Church Hall. Any new enterprise seems to be hedged around with bureaucracy these days and we should be truely grateful to the Vicar, to the Churchwardens and all those people who have worked so hard to get the permissions necessary to bring us to the moment of the blessing of the foundation stone.

The church clock struck half-past nine and thirty seconds later a very resplendent Bishop appeared, dressed in a gold mitre and Brian’s white chasuble with a vibrant collage decoration (made by Margaret Lawrance). The stone was blessed and we all went into the church.

A visit by a dignatory like Bishop David leads to a flurry of preparation and certainly these efforts were repaid by the beautiful and welcoming appearance of the church on that special day. Indeed the bishop himself paid tribute to the loveliness of the church. It is true that the Church is not about buildings but it certainly can uplift the spirit when people are surrounded by beauty.

At the heart of the service Bishop David preached a sermon on Joy - the joy of living positively - the joy of worship - the wonder of God’s achievements. He told the congregation of his joy at receiving the gold pectoral cross he wore. It had been made by a poor and illiterate African - a man who had to walk five miles to collect water and five miles to bring it back to his family. What an unexpectedly wondrous piece of craftsmanship from an unexpected source. In lighter vein the bishop said he was not looking forward to the General Synod. He had no doubt anticipated the controversy reflected less than a week later in the press. But returning to his main theme Bishop David reminded us all that ‘Christ was the living stone’ on which the Church and our faith was built. During the service the children sang sweetly and the choir’s performance of Vaughan Williams was outstanding.

At the breakfast in Church which followed everyone was pleased and proud that the Bishop of London, a rare visitor to the parish, had been to bless the stone of the new Church Hall and to inspire all of us to go out in peace to love and serve the Lord.

Source: Tina and Michael Bunce, The Spire Magazine - 1993 August

The Song of the Hill
Yes, I did enjoy ‘The Song of the Hill’, from the little pink animal playing with the ‘cow’ in the first scene on the Heath to the final glimpse of life years ago in Hampton Hill when the Working Men’s Club (the building still to be seen in the High Street, the premises now occupied by the delicatessen and the launderette) afforded entertainment in the shape of drinks, songs and hymns!

We owe again, a great debt to Stuart Ward, who wrote and directed the play (pageant?) and whose enthusiasm and drive energised his cast and helpers, so that, between them, they gave us what was a most enjoyable and interesting dramatic reconstruction of some of the history of Hampton Hill and of events in the life of St. James’s Church’s first Vicar, the wealthy, philanthropic Rev. Fitz Wygram. He was a great reformer who brought adequate housing and sanitation, schooling and street-lighting, at his own expense, to a neglected, unsalubrious village where the inhabitants led a miserable and poverty-stricken existence. With this material, Stuart wove a fascinating tapistry. Using children as well as adult actors, the scenes linked together by Margery Orton, wonderfully be-hatted, who edited the book ‘The Birth and Growth of Hampton Hill’, on which the play was based.

Many people were performers, as Irish navvies, as Victorian villagers, as ‘spooning’ tram-car passengers and, very splendidly, as Mr. and Mrs. Fitz Wygram themselves (David and Betty Robottom). There was excellent and unobtrusive scene setting, the costumes bespoke thought, time spent and ingenuity - and did you notice David Lloyd as a Chelsea pensioner, Brian as a Schoolmaster, Hannah in her white bonnet, and Chrissie who was pushed along in the procession laden with flowers and vegetables in her wheelchair? And did you enjoy, as I did, Stuart’s wonderful recitation? Everyone looked authentic, the music was much enjoyed, especially the two songs ‘I’m shy, Mary Ellen’ and ‘The Last Rose of Summer’. A splendid time was had by all, actors and audience. Even the lugubrious dancing nurserymen probably enjoyed themselves really!

Our thanks to all who took part in whatever capacity, many of them not mentioned here because they were too numerous. This ‘Song of the Hill’ made a great contribution to our festival both in terms of fostering community feeling and enthusiasm, and financially. After ‘Dawnlight’ and ‘Song of the Hill’, what next, Stuart? Such a high standard may be difficult to keep, but we have confidence in you and look forward to the next ‘event’ with anticipation!

Source: Margaret Taylor, The Spire Magazine - 1993 August