A BRIEF HISTORY

The first priest to serve Beaconsfield was appointed in 1210 by the Rector of Burnham.  Little is known of the church architecture before 1420.  It was evidently a well-constructed building with a tower, because in 1420 the Lord of the Manor made a grant towards the upkeep of the belfry and in 1542 John Waller left money to top it with a small steeple.  In 1634 and 1657 Inspectors of Churches reported that the fabric was badly in need of repair.  In 1705 the rights of patronage passed to Magdalen College, Oxford, who funded extensive repairs in 1720.  As the population grew a larger church was needed, so between 1869 and 1885 a major building programme was undertaken, resulting in one of the finest churches in the Chilterns.

NORTH AISLE

Churches in the UK are usually built on an East-West axis; the North Aisle is on your left as you face the altar.  On the wall near the North door are lists of the 59 rectors who have served the parish since 1210, three of whom later became bishops.  The banner of the Royal Army Education Corp (RAEC) relates to the Defence School of Languages which was located at Wilton Park until 2014.

There are ten wall plaques commemorating parishioners.  One, in brass dated 1572 naming Robert Lee and Katherine his wife, was found under floor tiles when the church was rebuilt.  Another remembers William Baker, a merchant sailor whose ship was lost with all hands in 1809.  Of the plaques to the Du Pre and Grenfell family of Wilton Park, one is to 23-year-old Robert Grenfell, killed in a cavalry charge near Khartoum in 1898, with Winston Churchill also active in the charge.

There are three Grenfell memorial windows.  One depicts David and Jonathon in memory of twin brothers, both of whom were killed in World War I.  Francis was the first recipient in the war of the Victoria Cross.  The second window portrays the Holy Family and the third, designed by Ninian Comper, shows Nimrod the hunter and St. Hubert, the patron Saint of hunters.

In the floor at the East end of this aisle are several black slabs for the members of the Waller family of Gregories.  

THE SANCTUARY

The area around the altar is known as the Sanctuary.  The innovative altar frontal was designed and embroidered by Jenny Adin-Christie, including workshops where local people and children could put in their own stitches, and was dedicated in 2017.  The embroidered panels are mounted on boards which fit in front of cloth which is changed to the seasonal liturgical colour.

 

 

There are several kneelers commemorating previous rectors of the church, each decorated to show their own interests and activities within the church.

The East window was made by the John Hardman studio, in memory of John Gould, Rector for 46 years (d. 1866).  It has a central motif of the Crucifixion, with the virgin Mary and St. John on either side.  On the left are six female saints: Cecilia, Fridesweide, Margaret, Catherine, Helena and Mary Magdelene.  On the right side are six male saints: Peter, Benedict, Edmund, Augustine, Laurence and Sebastian.  Near the apex sits Christ throned in glory, blessing the world, with the Archangel Gabriel on his right and the Archangel Michael on his left.

 

The reredos behind the altar depicts the Crucifixion, with female saints in heaven on the left and male saints on earth on the right.  The window on the South wall was designed by Ninian Comper.  He also possibly designed the stencilling on the purple panels between the angels on the ceiling.

In a recess to the left of the altar is a tomb of Purbeck marble, possibly that of John Butler, Sheriff of Bedford and Bucks (d. 1477), though the identifying brasses have been lost.

The ornate gilded wood Baroque armchair is of Spanish design and was presented by Benjamin Disraeli in 1876 when he became Earl of Beaconsfield.

THE LADY CHAPEL

The Lady Chapel is to the right of the altar.  The 16th century oak screen doorway is decorated with six rosettes:  two Tudor roses for Henry VIII, two pomegranates for his queen, Catherine of Aragon, and two fleurs-de-lys for the Virgin Mary. 

 

Besides the screen is a 16th century tomb with the brasses lost, possibly connected with the Bulstrode family.  The window in the East wall depicting St. Michael killing the dragon was made by the John Hardman Studio and was given in memory of Henry Sykes (d. 1865).

 

SOUTH AISLE

Three windows, designed by Ninian Comper, comprise an impressive memorial to Harriette Webster Lawson (d 1897).  A fourth window commemorates Florence Smith (d. 1947).

The wall is embellished with 12 memorial plaques dating from 1638 to 1943: three to members of the Lawson family of Hall Barn: two to Edmund Burke (d. 1797) and his family and seven to other parishioners.

The font is besides the South door, reminding the congregation

 that they enter the church through baptism.  The richly carved Caen stone was given by Edmund Waller in 1869, with the wooden cover being given by the children of the parish.  He was a descendant of the politician and poet Edmund Waller (d 1687) whose monument topped by a slender pyramid can be seen in the churchyard.

 

THE NAVE

The pulpit was given in memory of John and Catherine Charsley in 1869, with the three panels carved by their daughter Matilda.

The brass eagle lectern was given in memory of Caledon Du Pre (d. 1886).

The carved screen under the organ loft is part 13th century, part 16th century and closely resembles the screen on the North aisle of the Lady Chapel.  The organ was built by Messrs Rothwell of Willesden in 1869, restored and improved in 1953, then rebuilt in 1967 by Cousans of Lincoln.  There is an on-going project to repair and refurbish the organ which is currently being augmented by an organ in the North aisle.

The kneelers were embroidered by 75 of the parishioners over the period 1978 to 1994 with the whole project being coordinated by Lady Enid Burnham.  The five designs are based on motifs to be found in the windows, stonework and wooden carvings within the church.

 

 

Take a look: there are often temporary displays at the rear of the Nave to commemorate historic events or interesting works.

THE TOWER

The bells are over 300 years, with the then five bells being recast in 1722.  Mears and Stainback recast most of the bells and augmented the peal to eight bells, supported in a wooden bell-frame, in a revamped tower in 1884.  The second and sixth bells are older dating from 1794 and 1760.

A major renovation project was undertaken by members of the ringing team in 1977.  A reinforced concrete ring beam was cast to support the existing bell-frame to overcome the ravages from death-watch beetle.  The bells and fittings were overhauled by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry.

The clock on the second floor of the tower was made by J Smith and Sons of Derby in 1885.  The escapement is similar to that used for Big Ben with a temperature-compensated pendulum which enable it to keep excellent time.

 

KNEELERS

Kneelers in church, or to use their original name, ‘hassocks’, serve several purposes.  Many people prefer to kneel when praying and a kneeler makes this more comfortable by avoiding contact with the hard, cold floor.  They also enhance the image of the church, with over 300 kneelers at St Mary’s adding a warmth and beauty to the building, and encourage a memory of the members of the congregation who embroidered them with their skill and dedication.

 The kneelers in St Mary’s Church are over 50 years old.  They were the inspiration of Lady Burnham who was a very fine self-taught needlepoint artist.  She complained to the Rector that the old kneelers were hard and split and ruined her stockings when she knelt to pray.  She volunteered to instigate a project to make new kneelers and contacted a friend in the North of England who was a professional embroiderer and designer. She designed the various kneelers, taking as her inspiration artefacts that were within the church.  If you look around, you can see some of the images that were used: the various crosses in the windows and the bunches of grapes that were carved on the wooden edges. You may also notice that the ends of the kneelers bear the initials or dedications by embroiderers for, or in memory of, members of their families.

Once the designs were completed, they were checked by Moira McNeil, another professional embroiderer.  It was decided to use bright shades of red, blue and green, colours which were very innovative at the time but have stood the test of time giving a lovely warmth to the church.  The various stitches used were also a modern way of working, adding an interesting texture to the finished piece.

Kneelers are traditionally made using crewel wool on canvas, giving a very long-lasting finish.  The wool and canvas were all assembled by Lady Burnham and then distributed to over 70 members of the congregation who had volunteered to make the kneelers.  Many of the members had never worked in needlepoint before so Lady Burnham held teaching sessions to help them. They had to submit a sampler of their work before they were given permission to progress to making a kneeler.  Instructions were given on how to make an embroidery frame and how to mount the canvas on the frame. There were also instructions on how to embroider the kneeler on the frame.

Many of the makers worked on their own at home but two groups met on Tuesday evenings to work together on their kneelers.  This was like the ‘Knit and Natter’ groups which are popular today.  Each kneeler could take up to two years to complete and were a labour of love for each of their makers.  Lady Burnham made several of the kneelers herself as well as the altar rail kneelers.

There are several special kneelers to be found within the chancel. These were sewn by members of the congregation to celebrate and remember the rectors who have served at St Mary’s over the past 80 years. These kneelers are unique and represent each rector’s personal contribution to St Mary’s and to Beaconsfield, as well as illustrating their particular hobbies and interests. 

Textiles require repairing as they age, There is an ongoing programme of maintenance in progress. We do hope that you enjoy the kneelers and look after them.

Listed below are the names of the embroiderers of the hassocks during the period 1977–1988:

Alexander, Mrs. Barcy, Mrs. L. Barry, Mrs. S. Boughey, Mrs. Bowser, Mrs. M. Brockman, Miss S. Burnham, The Lady Butterwick, The Hon. Mrs. Carlson, Mrs. S. Carr, Mrs. U. Carroll, Mrs. A. Connel, Mrs. Dalmahoy, Miss B.W. Davis, Mrs. S.M. Dionge, Mrs. Dugdale, Mrs. Dredge, Miss Farrell, Mrs. I. Featherstone, Miss D. Francis, Miss P. Frost, Mrs. B. Goodyear, Mrs. Gordon, Mrs. Greenwood, Mrs. E. Hall, Mrs. S. Harford, Miss P.

Harley, Mrs. P.R. Hill, Mrs. F. Hooper, Miss Ibbotson, Mr. J.G. Jones, Mrs. Kempson, Mrs. Kiddle, Mrs. Knock, Mrs. Lancaster, Mrs. Lawrence, Mrs. Livingstone, Mrs. Lockwood, Mrs. Logan, Miss S. Long, Mrs. Macgregor, Mrs. MacKenzie, Mrs. Manley, Miss E. Manson, Mrs. McDougall, Mrs. Meredith, Mrs. Mitchell, Miss N. Mude, Mrs. M. Needle, Miss Nolan, Mrs.

Oxley, Mrs. Phillips, Mrs. Piggott, Miss Pringle, Mrs. Quarton, Mrs. Reakes, Mrs. E. Roberts, Mrs. Rogers, Miss Rollins, Mrs. D. Russell, Mrs. G. Saunders, Mrs. Sawyer, Mrs. Sheen, Brigadier H.T. Simmonds, Mrs. Stephenson, Mrs. F.S. Swinhoe, Standen Mrs. P. Tiratsoo, Mrs. S. Townsend, Mrs. Warner, Mrs. C. Warner, Miss H. Williams, Mrs. B. Williams, Mrs. D.T. Williamson, Mrs. D. Wing, Mrs. P.H. Woodall, Mrs. P. Wright, Mrs. R.A. Yates, Miss R.