Christ

Church

Hilderstone

Christ Church, Hilderstone

The Commissioners laid down specific stipulations as to design and personally approved the pans of all churches funded by them. Examples of requirements are "the windows ought not to resemble modern sashes; but whether Grecian or Gothic, should be in small panes and not costly" and "The pulpit should not intercept a view of the altar, but all seats should be placed so as to face the preacher". The application of these requirements can be seen in Christ Church, Hilderstone. Commissioner's churches (and others built at the same time) have characteristic features. They have lean proportions. A large rectangle with the altar at the end set in a short chancel. There is often a pulpit on one side of the chancel, with a reading desk at a lower level on the other. The organ is in a West gallery. Beneath the West gallery is the font. Windows were long and pointed. Often they have lancet windows with shallow buttresses between. Each of these features may been seen in Christ Church.

The Victorians did not favour Commissioners churches. They regarded them as cheap and unworthy. The design and structure of Commissioners churches did not lie easily with developments in the Anglican liturgy and theology in Victorian England. Victorian architects despoiled the vast majority of them. Betjeman says (in the Collins Guide to Parish Churches of England and Wales, London 1980, p 61) that he is aware of only one Commissioners church which has survived exactly as its architect designed it. He refers to Christ Church, Acton Square, Salford. Christ Church, Hilderstone, is another. Good fortune, and a lack of funds, has meant that Christ Church Hilderstone is very much as Thomas Trubshaw designed it. There have been only minor changes to the furnishings. Although the building has been lit by electricity since 1947, the original candlesticks are in place at the pew ends!

In his "Buildings of England: Staffordshire", Sir Nikolaus Pevsner says

"Christ Church (1827-29) by Thomas Trubshaw. Commissioners' type, but with a North West steeple carrying a recessed spire. The church has lancets, with flattish buttresses between, and typically clumsy pinnacles. The interior has originality - ignorance breeding originality - with its octagonal piers, each side carrying fluting or a sunken panel, and its leaf capitals. Angel corbels for the roof inform us of the people connected with the new building (Ralph Bourne, the donor, the parson at the time, and the architect). Box Pews. Stained Glass. The east window with its glaring colours typical of its date: 1829 by Collins of London (CPDD)."

Pevsner is unduly harsh. The charm of the church arises from the fact that it is a local work, little changed from the time when it was first built. The East window is in fact enamelled glass. It is thought to be the only surviving example of Collins' work in situ in a church in the United Kingdom. The central panel is a copy of a painting by Carlo Dolci, the original of which was at one time in the ownership of the Marquis of Exeter. The panel was exhibited in 1828.  An attempt to to photograph the original is alongside. The photograph does not do justice to the lustrous colours of the original.

The family of the first vicar of Hilderstone had connections with the composer Edward Elgar. William Meath Baker is "WMB" of the fourth of the Enigma Variations. His sister, Dora, married Richard Baxter Townshend, "RBT", of the third variation, and another sister, Minnie, was the second wife of the Reverend Alfred Penny. Mr. Penny's daughter (and Minnie's step daughter) was the Dorabella, the dedicatee of the tenth variation. Further details of the connection with Elgar are to be found on the Hilderstone Miscellany Website.

JAC.

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