Holy Trinity Church, Trowbridge
Encyclopedia
Holy Trinity Church, Trowbridge is a parish church
in the Church of England
located in Trowbridge
, Wiltshire
, England. It was completed in 1838. It is commonly known in Trowbridge as ‘The Church on the Roundabout
’, as it is entirely encircled by a one-way traffic system.
, who retained the patronage. It had been noted that the existing parish church could barely hold a twelfth of the 12,000 population, and so plans were set in motion to build a new, larger church. In 1835 fund-raising appeals were begun by Francis Fulford, the then-rector of the parish church of St. James, with estimated construction costs of £4000.
The total cost of the church was £5,251
(£ as of ), towards which a grant of £1,676
(£ as of ) was provided by the Church Building Commissioners. The building contractors for the church were Charles and Richard Gane.
A. F. Livesay
of Portsmouth was appointed as architect. Other works of his included the recently completed Holy Spirit Church, Newtown
, on the Isle of Wight. Livesay’s design is in the Early English
architectural style, and is based on elements of Salisbury Cathedral
, including the vaulting and bosses of the north and south aisles in the Cathedral. The church was built of poor-quality Westwood stone,http://projects.bre.co.uk/ConDiv/stonelist/westwood2.html with the interior having iron and plaster columns (the plaster painted to mimic marble such as the Purbeck marble
of Salisbury cathedral’s columns), and plaster scribed with false ashlar blocks to mimic high-quality stonework in the vaulting and walls. There were four porches, one of which (the south porch, the main entrance to the church nowadays) is situated under an embattled tower. The windows were originally plain, clear glass.
Unusually, the church is not oriented east/west, but rather north-east/south-west.
The foundation stone was laid in 1837, with the builders Richard and Charles Gane. 7,000 people attended the ceremony, indicating the importance of the event. The building took just over a year to complete, and cost £6,415 and 12 shillings. It was consecrated by the Bishop of Salisbury
on 1 November 1838. At this time it had a west gallery which extended as far as the first set of iron columns, and the organ, actually a seraphine, was also at this end of the church. A plaque on the south wall states that on consecration it held seats for 1033 parishioners.
Other alterations to the arrangement of the church’s layout have since been made. The clergy vestry was in the south-east corner, in the area now occupied by the toilets off the south transept. The north-east porch is now the flower vestry, and the font originally stood where the organ is now, but was replaced by a newer font in 1874.
In 1852 a new organ was installed in the west gallery, and in 1861-2 new heating apparatus was installed. In 1866 the first marble wall monument was erected. In 1871 the south transept was turned into a side chapel for weekday services. To mark the church’s 50 year jubilee in 1888, the west gallery was removed and the organ moved to the chancel area and choir stalls added alongside. The font was moved to the west gallery at the same time. In 1898 the west end of the church was partially re-seated.
In 1901 the first serious report on the church’s fabric showed the folly of using the relatively cheap Westwood stone, with weak buttresses and weathered stone. Between 1902 and 1904 the chancel was raised above the level of the nave and screens erected forming and organ chamber on the north and a choir vestry to the south. In 1908 the reseating of the church was completed, reducing the seats from 1033 to nearer 750.
The All Saint’s chapel (at the eastern end of the church) was refurbished in 1911. In 1914 the high altar reredos
with credence table, Bishop’s stall and sedilia was erected, the work of A. L. Moore
of London. The reredos is of carved oak with panels of opus sectile
, showing adoring angels in the centre, with the nativity to the left and the resurrection to the right, with flanking portraits, two on either side, of the four Archangels - Michael, Gabriel, Raphael and Uriel.
In 1927 a reredos was dedicated in the All Saints Chapel, showing the Transfiguration, and signed by A. L. and C. E. Moore and dated 1924.
In 1940, a screen was erected between the Lady Chapel (in the north transept) and the nave. A new choir vestry at the west end of the nave was built as a memorial to those who died in World War II. The font was moved from this area and placed under the Norris window in the south transept. The names of the 56 members of the parish who died in the war are carved on the screen, on either side of the central door. The screen was dedicated in 1951. In 1955 the former choir vestry in the All Saint’s Chapel was converted to a side chapel.
In the 1970s, the development of the new Trowbridge inner relief road involved the demolition of a few buildings near the church, and the creation of a one way traffic-light controlled roundabout around the church, effectively isolating it. It soon gained the local nickname, "The Church on the Roundabout".
In 1980-1 the vicar’s vestry was converted to toilets, the font was moved to near the main door, and a screen to match that in the Lady Chapel was erected between the south transept and the nave. This area was used as a creche. At the same time a simple, movable wooden nave altar was installed.
The pews were removed in 2000 and replaced with chairs.
, and that on the right the Ascension. The maker is unknown.
On the south wall near the east end of the church is the memorial window to the Revd Digby Walsh, vicar of the church for eleven years and who died at the age of 39 in 1869. The maker was A. L. Moore of London.
In 1906 Alice Ewing, the wife of the vicar Robert Ewing, died, and a window in her memory was inserted in the north wall.
Robert died a few years later in 1908, and the magnificent east window was inserted in 1909 in his honour. The window was also designed and made by A. L. Moore, and the left hand upper window depicts the Crucifixion
, with Mary, John and Mary Magdalene; the window below shows Christ telling Peter ‘feed my lambs’, a reference to Dr Ewing’s educational work. The right hand upper window represents the Ascension; the light below shows the aged grandmother and mother teaching the scriptures to Timothy, the subject of Dr Ewing’s last sermon, preached the day before he died. Jesus is shown in the upper rose; some of the stonework was cut away to allow a greater area for the stained glass image.
In 1913 the small window above the flower vestry door in the north wall was inserted in the memory of Harry Moore, the church organist who had died the previous year. It shows St. Gregory
holding a sheet of plainsong
.
In 1937 the windows in the south transept were dedicated in memory of Florence Norris. They show the charity of Dorcas
top left; beneath is St Martin on horseback with a beggar. The top right window shows Jesus at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper
, and below is Jesus healing Lazarus
. The windows were made by Morris & Co.
In 1945 the windows were erected in the Lady Chapel in memory of Arthur Stancomb. They were designed to echo the style of the windows in the chapel in the south transept. The top left light shows Christ the good shepherd, with St. Francis
beneath him. The top right light shows Jesus with the little children, and below is St. Christopher, patron saint of travellers.
cross was erected as a memorial to the fallen of World War I from the parish. It bears 147 names in total, and was dedicated in 1921. Many of the gravestones were removed in 1977.
. Each June Trowbridge Symphony Orchestra plays an annual concert in the Church.
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
in the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
located in Trowbridge
Trowbridge
Trowbridge is the county town of Wiltshire, England, situated on the River Biss in the west of the county, approximately 12 miles southeast of Bath, Somerset....
, Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
, England. It was completed in 1838. It is commonly known in Trowbridge as ‘The Church on the Roundabout
Roundabout
A roundabout is the name for a road junction in which traffic moves in one direction around a central island. The word dates from the early 20th century. Roundabouts are common in many countries around the world...
’, as it is entirely encircled by a one-way traffic system.
History
The Trowbridge manor which included the land on which the church stands was bought in 1807 from the fifth Duke of RutlandJohn Manners, 5th Duke of Rutland
John Henry Manners, 5th Duke of Rutland, KG , styled Lord Roos from 1778 until 1779 and Marquess of Granby from 1779 until 1787, was a British peer....
, who retained the patronage. It had been noted that the existing parish church could barely hold a twelfth of the 12,000 population, and so plans were set in motion to build a new, larger church. In 1835 fund-raising appeals were begun by Francis Fulford, the then-rector of the parish church of St. James, with estimated construction costs of £4000.
The total cost of the church was £5,251
(£ as of ), towards which a grant of £1,676
(£ as of ) was provided by the Church Building Commissioners. The building contractors for the church were Charles and Richard Gane.
A. F. Livesay
A. F. Livesay
Augustus Frederick Livesay , known professionally as A. F. Livesay, was an architect based in Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight, England.-Life and work:...
of Portsmouth was appointed as architect. Other works of his included the recently completed Holy Spirit Church, Newtown
Holy Spirit Church, Newtown
Holy Spirit Church, Newtown is a parish church in the Church of England located in Newtown, Isle of Wight.-History:The church dates from 1835 by the architect A. F. Livesay, and was built on the site of a ruined medieval chapel. Architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner described the church as 'the...
, on the Isle of Wight. Livesay’s design is in the Early English
English Gothic architecture
English Gothic is the name of the architectural style that flourished in England from about 1180 until about 1520.-Introduction:As with the Gothic architecture of other parts of Europe, English Gothic is defined by its pointed arches, vaulted roofs, buttresses, large windows, and spires...
architectural style, and is based on elements of Salisbury Cathedral
Salisbury Cathedral
Salisbury Cathedral, formally known as the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Anglican cathedral in Salisbury, England, considered one of the leading examples of Early English architecture....
, including the vaulting and bosses of the north and south aisles in the Cathedral. The church was built of poor-quality Westwood stone,http://projects.bre.co.uk/ConDiv/stonelist/westwood2.html with the interior having iron and plaster columns (the plaster painted to mimic marble such as the Purbeck marble
Purbeck Marble
Purbeck Marble is a fossiliferous limestone quarried in the Isle of Purbeck, a peninsula in south-east Dorset, England.It is one of many kinds of Purbeck Limestone, deposited in the late Jurassic or early Cretaceous periods....
of Salisbury cathedral’s columns), and plaster scribed with false ashlar blocks to mimic high-quality stonework in the vaulting and walls. There were four porches, one of which (the south porch, the main entrance to the church nowadays) is situated under an embattled tower. The windows were originally plain, clear glass.
Unusually, the church is not oriented east/west, but rather north-east/south-west.
The foundation stone was laid in 1837, with the builders Richard and Charles Gane. 7,000 people attended the ceremony, indicating the importance of the event. The building took just over a year to complete, and cost £6,415 and 12 shillings. It was consecrated by the Bishop of Salisbury
Bishop of Salisbury
The Bishop of Salisbury is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Salisbury in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers much of the counties of Wiltshire and Dorset...
on 1 November 1838. At this time it had a west gallery which extended as far as the first set of iron columns, and the organ, actually a seraphine, was also at this end of the church. A plaque on the south wall states that on consecration it held seats for 1033 parishioners.
Other alterations to the arrangement of the church’s layout have since been made. The clergy vestry was in the south-east corner, in the area now occupied by the toilets off the south transept. The north-east porch is now the flower vestry, and the font originally stood where the organ is now, but was replaced by a newer font in 1874.
In 1852 a new organ was installed in the west gallery, and in 1861-2 new heating apparatus was installed. In 1866 the first marble wall monument was erected. In 1871 the south transept was turned into a side chapel for weekday services. To mark the church’s 50 year jubilee in 1888, the west gallery was removed and the organ moved to the chancel area and choir stalls added alongside. The font was moved to the west gallery at the same time. In 1898 the west end of the church was partially re-seated.
In 1901 the first serious report on the church’s fabric showed the folly of using the relatively cheap Westwood stone, with weak buttresses and weathered stone. Between 1902 and 1904 the chancel was raised above the level of the nave and screens erected forming and organ chamber on the north and a choir vestry to the south. In 1908 the reseating of the church was completed, reducing the seats from 1033 to nearer 750.
The All Saint’s chapel (at the eastern end of the church) was refurbished in 1911. In 1914 the high altar reredos
Reredos
thumb|300px|right|An altar and reredos from [[St. Josaphat's Roman Catholic Church|St. Josaphat Catholic Church]] in [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]]. This would be called a [[retable]] in many other languages and countries....
with credence table, Bishop’s stall and sedilia was erected, the work of A. L. Moore
A. L. Moore
Arthur Louis Moore was an English glass-maker who specialised in stained glass windows.-Life:Moore was one of nine children of a Clerkenwell clockmaker, and in 1871 he founded, along with a Mr. S. Gibbs, the London company of Gibbs and Moore, glassmakers. In subsequent years Moore seems to have...
of London. The reredos is of carved oak with panels of opus sectile
Opus sectile
Opus sectile refers to an art technique popularized in the ancient and medieval Roman world where materials were cut and inlaid into walls and floors to make a picture or pattern. Common materials were marble, mother of pearl, and glass. The materials were cut in thin pieces, polished, then trimmed...
, showing adoring angels in the centre, with the nativity to the left and the resurrection to the right, with flanking portraits, two on either side, of the four Archangels - Michael, Gabriel, Raphael and Uriel.
In 1927 a reredos was dedicated in the All Saints Chapel, showing the Transfiguration, and signed by A. L. and C. E. Moore and dated 1924.
In 1940, a screen was erected between the Lady Chapel (in the north transept) and the nave. A new choir vestry at the west end of the nave was built as a memorial to those who died in World War II. The font was moved from this area and placed under the Norris window in the south transept. The names of the 56 members of the parish who died in the war are carved on the screen, on either side of the central door. The screen was dedicated in 1951. In 1955 the former choir vestry in the All Saint’s Chapel was converted to a side chapel.
In the 1970s, the development of the new Trowbridge inner relief road involved the demolition of a few buildings near the church, and the creation of a one way traffic-light controlled roundabout around the church, effectively isolating it. It soon gained the local nickname, "The Church on the Roundabout".
In 1980-1 the vicar’s vestry was converted to toilets, the font was moved to near the main door, and a screen to match that in the Lady Chapel was erected between the south transept and the nave. This area was used as a creche. At the same time a simple, movable wooden nave altar was installed.
The pews were removed in 2000 and replaced with chairs.
Windows
On each side of the east window is a window to the memory of Charles Gane, one of the builders of the church, who died in 1866. That on the left represents the ResurrectionResurrection
Resurrection refers to the literal coming back to life of the biologically dead. It is used both with respect to particular individuals or the belief in a General Resurrection of the dead at the end of the world. The General Resurrection is featured prominently in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim...
, and that on the right the Ascension. The maker is unknown.
On the south wall near the east end of the church is the memorial window to the Revd Digby Walsh, vicar of the church for eleven years and who died at the age of 39 in 1869. The maker was A. L. Moore of London.
In 1906 Alice Ewing, the wife of the vicar Robert Ewing, died, and a window in her memory was inserted in the north wall.
Robert died a few years later in 1908, and the magnificent east window was inserted in 1909 in his honour. The window was also designed and made by A. L. Moore, and the left hand upper window depicts the Crucifixion
Crucifixion
Crucifixion is an ancient method of painful execution in which the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead...
, with Mary, John and Mary Magdalene; the window below shows Christ telling Peter ‘feed my lambs’, a reference to Dr Ewing’s educational work. The right hand upper window represents the Ascension; the light below shows the aged grandmother and mother teaching the scriptures to Timothy, the subject of Dr Ewing’s last sermon, preached the day before he died. Jesus is shown in the upper rose; some of the stonework was cut away to allow a greater area for the stained glass image.
In 1913 the small window above the flower vestry door in the north wall was inserted in the memory of Harry Moore, the church organist who had died the previous year. It shows St. Gregory
Pope Gregory I
Pope Gregory I , better known in English as Gregory the Great, was pope from 3 September 590 until his death...
holding a sheet of plainsong
Plainsong
Plainsong is a body of chants used in the liturgies of the Catholic Church. Though the Eastern Orthodox churches and the Catholic Church did not split until long after the origin of plainchant, Byzantine chants are generally not classified as plainsong.Plainsong is monophonic, consisting of a...
.
In 1937 the windows in the south transept were dedicated in memory of Florence Norris. They show the charity of Dorcas
Dorcas
Dorcas was a disciple who lived in Joppa, referenced in the Book of Acts of the Bible. Acts recounts that when she died, she was mourned by "all the widows ... crying and showing the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them."...
top left; beneath is St Martin on horseback with a beggar. The top right window shows Jesus at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper
Simon the Leper
Simon the Leper is a biblical figure mentioned by the Gospels according to Matthew and Mark . These two books narrate how Jesus made a visit to the house of Simon the Leper at Bethany during the course of which a woman anoints the head of Jesus with costly ointment. Bethany was the home of Simon...
, and below is Jesus healing Lazarus
Lazarus of Bethany
Lazarus of Bethany, also known as Saint Lazarus or Lazarus of the Four Days, is the subject of a prominent miracle attributed to Jesus in the Gospel of John, in which Jesus restores him to life four days after his death...
. The windows were made by Morris & Co.
Morris & Co.
Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. and its successor Morris & Co. were furnishings and decorative arts manufacturers and retailers founded by the Pre-Raphaelite artist and designer William Morris...
In 1945 the windows were erected in the Lady Chapel in memory of Arthur Stancomb. They were designed to echo the style of the windows in the chapel in the south transept. The top left light shows Christ the good shepherd, with St. Francis
Francis of Assisi
Saint Francis of Assisi was an Italian Catholic friar and preacher. He founded the men's Franciscan Order, the women’s Order of St. Clare, and the lay Third Order of Saint Francis. St...
beneath him. The top right light shows Jesus with the little children, and below is St. Christopher, patron saint of travellers.
Redecoration and repair
The first episode of redecoration and repair of the church interior and churchyard occurred during Digby Walsh’s tenure as vicar, i.e. sometime between 1858–1869, with a second taking place in 1884. Records are unclear about the intervening period, but the church was again redecorated completely in 1967-8, and as part of the redecoration the half-shafts of the pillars on the walls were removed, apart from at the far east and west ends of the church. In 2009 the church was repaired and redecorated internally, with the colour scheme changing from blues and stone colours to reds, pinks, white and gold.The churchyard
A Portland stonePortland stone
Portland stone is a limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. The quarries consist of beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a building stone throughout the British Isles, notably in major...
cross was erected as a memorial to the fallen of World War I from the parish. It bears 147 names in total, and was dedicated in 1921. Many of the gravestones were removed in 1977.
Church status
It is proposed the church is soon to be joined with the nearby Wesley Road Methodist Church in Trowbridge. The congregation will move to the Methodist Church building, and Holy Trinity will be devoted to youth outreach work, concerts and other activities.Events
On Saturday 12 September 2009 the church will be open from 10.00am - 1.30 pm as part of the annual Heritage Open Days event organised by English HeritageEnglish Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
. Each June Trowbridge Symphony Orchestra plays an annual concert in the Church.