Holy Trinity Claygate
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October 2024
| To discuss any grant applications that have been received. |
| i: An application was received by Holy Trinity Church for their Way Maker churchyard project. It requested CIL funding for £50,000 which would cover approximately 20% of the overall costs of the project. Councillors put their questions regarding the project to John Smith and general discussion ensued. It was agreed—most importantly—that the Clerk would ascertain from EBC which aspects of the project qualify for CI—for the CIL-qualifying parts of the project. It was agreed to revisit this application at our meeting in December giving the church time to find out more information and resubmit to the Council. ACTION: Clerk |
| (extract from Parish Council meeting, 10th October 2024, item 14) |
HIDDEN GEM WILL BE OPENED UP TO ALL
Plans are being drawn up by Holy Trinity Church to share its churchyard with the wider community. The Way Maker Churchyard Project aims to open up this hidden gem in the heart of Claygate, rich with natural beauty and history.
The Church says its vision is to create a welcoming environment that honours and respects those who come to remember loved ones. It is aiming to foster wellbeing for body, mind and spirit by providing a peaceful sanctuary, with a focus on biodiversity and wildlife, ensuring that the churchyard is a place where people can connect with nature.
Design plans and drawings, developed by Selina Botham, an award-wining garden designer who lives in Claygate, are on display in the church and everyone is welcome to call in and view them.
The main elements of the project include the creation of access to the Recreation Ground by providing a new gate next to the Pavilion Café, with new pathways laid to enable a route from the Rec to Church Road. Strategically placed benches will be installed to create “peace pockets” with beautiful views across the churchyard and opportunities for quiet reflection.
A wildflower meadow will also be created with grass pathways to enable people to walk through the meadow. And in the corner of the churchyard by the Pavilion, and adjacent to the new path, there will be a wildlife area with new trees and shrubs and a shallow pond.
A seating area outside the rear entrance of the church foyer is also planned. It will be enhanced to enable easy access into the church building if people want to take part in mid-week activities or have coffee and chat. This area will have raised flower beds and fruit trees. The War Memorial and Garden of Remembrance will also be improved to make both areas more attractive.
The Church hopes the project will develop some of the recommendations of Claygate: The Way Forward, the survey carried out by the Claygate Village Association, by enhancing Claygate’s distinctive character, supporting and strengthening the community, and offering educational opportunities for local schools to learn about nature, local history and community gardening.
The Church wants everyone in the parish to feel involved and share a sense of joint ownership. Anyone with the skills, talents, or a desire to contribute, is invited to help in making this vision a reality. Even after the project is complete, the Church says villagers’ help in maintaining and enhancing the churchyard would be greatly appreciated. Email waymaker@htclaygate.org to become involved.
For information, visit: https://htclaygate.org/waymaker/
Historical Notes
HOLY TRINITY CHURCH was built in 1840 on former common land. At this time Claygate formed its own parish, thus saving worshippers the walk to church at Thames Ditton via Old Claygate Lane.
The church was enlarged in 1866 and 1904, and again in 1999 when an extra aisle was added together with a new church hall and vicarage, funded largely by the congregation and the local community.
The War Memorial in the churchyard was unveiled on 6 March 1921 to commemorate the 43 Claygate men who lost their lives in the First World War. Another memorial inside the church is in memory of the 44 men who died in the Second World War.
In 1874 the living of the parish was held by the Rev. Henry Richards, and valued at £75 per annum. An anonymous writer described Holy Trinity in that year as: 'a handsome building in the Decorated style, considerably enlarged, at a cost of over £2,000, defrayed by the vicar and his family — having three handsome stained glass windows — in the gallery is a fine organ'.
Worship before 1840
On 22nd December 1840 the Church of the Holy Trinity was consecrated by the Bishop of Winchester, Charles Richard Sumner, and Claygate had its own church and became an ecclesiastical parish in its own right. Before then Claygate residents were obliged to walk or ride some two miles each way to attend services at St Nicholas Church, Thames Ditton. Most probably the route they took was along Old Claygate Lane which was then the principal and most direct thoroughfare to Thames Ditton. Then it would have borne little resemblance to the overgrown, little-used, muddy track it has become since Manor Roads South and North were developed in the mid-1920s.
There were also connections for Claygate people with St. Mary's (Long Ditton), and St. Mary the Virgin (Stoke D'Abernon), both of which can trace back their origins to Saxon times or earlier, but surprisingly, in view of its proximity, no formal connection ever appears to have existed with the church of Esher.
St Nicholas, Thames Ditton, decides to build a church in Claygate
According to the minutes of Thames Ditton Vestry Meetings, the proposal to establish a church in Claygate caused heated debate before the decision was finally taken to go ahead with the project. This happened only after William Speer, patron and father of the incumbent, had effectively vetoed the alternative of extending St. Nicholas.
Prior to the Local Government Act of 1894, and the Poor Laws, the vestry had considerable powers. It was a meeting of all ratepayers, assembled on three days' notice, to elect parish officers, churchwardens, a collector of rates, and to manage the property of the parish. The 1894 Act, reinforced by a subsequent Act of 1933, transferred many of these powers to the local civil authority.
In the late 1830s, work started on building the church to the design of H Kendal. The original structure cost £1,350, including £50 for the land. The principal donors were:
Winchester Diocesan Society £250 Sir Robert Buxton, Baronet, of Ruxley £200 HM The King of the Belgians £150 Sir James J Buxton (Sir Robert's son) £100 David Bevan £100 C] Bevan of Upper Harley Street £50 HRH The Prince Consort £20
Reverend FS Bevan, Rector of Carleron Rode, Norfolk, also donated £2,000 as an endowment from which the vicars of Holy Trinity have received annual sums of about £60 to supplement their stipends.
The gifts from the King of the Belgians and The Prince Consort were prompted by the church's proximity to Claremont, while that of the Winchester Diocesan Society reflects the fact that Claygate was part of the Diocese of Winchester until the Diocese of Guildford was created in 1927. The Buxton family, as the then owners of Ruxley Lodge prior to the arrival of the Foleys, were likewise obvious subscribers being Claygate's most prestigious and influential family. Lastly, it is believed that the Bevans owned land in Claygate at that time and were known for their zealous support of the established church.
Vicars of Holy Trinity
The first clergyman to be instituted, on 30 January 1841, was the Revd David Baker. He remained in office until he died in 1852 and is buried in the churchyard. He was followed by:
- Revd Thomas Sedger until 1856,
- Revd Dr Henry Richards until 1884. (In 1868 the right of incumbency of the parish of Claygate was dissolved, and thereafter he and his successors were no longer called the Incumbent but the Vicar.)
- Revd Allan Barratt remained in office from 1885 to 1929, a period of 44 years during which time the relationship between vicar and parishioners was not always cordial.
- Revd Oscar Stanway (1930-1938)
- Revd (later Canon) R Bailey (1938-1944)
- Revd John Glynne Jones (1944-1957)
- Revd John Burrough (1957-1967)
- Revd (later Canon) Adrian Carey (1968-1978)
- Revd Robert Hyatt
- Revd Dr Philip Plyming
Holy Trinity and the BBC
Holy Trinity had its moment of fame when Morning Service was broadcast from it on BBC Radio 4 on 25th June 1972. This service was led by the Revd Adrian Carey who had been a member of the BBC's Religious Broadcasting department before coming to Claygate.
The Fixtures and Fittings of Holy Trinity
The old church schoolroom which was built in 1838, enlarged in 1849, rebuilt in 1866, and used as a church hall from 1881, was demolished in 1964 and replaced by a new church hall. On the north-west wall of the hall are two inscribed stones. One retrieved from the old building reads:
The other reads:
Inside the main porch there is a plaque which states:
The wrought-iron gates at the main entrance to the churchyard were erected in 1959 in memory of Hugh Rossiter of Devoncroft, Claygate, who died on 21st October 1955 aged 69, and his son, Captain David Rossiter MC of the Queen's Royal Regiment who was killed in action in Italy on 13th September 1944, aged 24 years. These gates were made by the Hogsden family of The Forge, Common Road, which was at one time a smithy and has more recently been a lawn mower servicing business.
Claygate National School
Until 1838, some of the local children received a limited form of education in a shed somewhere in Claygate. Those whose parents could afford to send them to school walked each day to Thames Ditton National School. In 1903 Surrey County Council passed a by-law requiring every child between the ages of 5 and 14 to attend school. Until then education in Surrey had been optional.
On 19th March 1838, Claygate's first elementary school opened with 45 pupils on a site close to Holy Trinity Church. The school, which was managed by the Church of England, cost £178 of which £16 was raised by voluntary contributions; grants each of £30 were made by the Treasury and the National Society. One penny per week was charged for each attending child, a significant sum for a poor family in those days.
This school room was enlarged in 1849. In 1866 it was rebuilt on the site now occupied by the Church Hall. An inscribed stone to this effect can be found on the north wall of the hall facing the church-by an unknown member of the family of the then incumbent, the Rev Henry Richards. An application in 1868 for an annual Parliamentary Grant stated that while the school known as Claygate National was managed nominally by the Rev Richards on behalf of the Church, it had a certified teacher, Charlotte Wood, who was paid a salary of £35 per year with free accommodation, and an unqualified assistant who was paid £3 per year. In the 1870s Miss Hillyear took over as headmistress.
The premises comprised a school room (37 x 20 feet), a classroom (20 x 12 feet), and a small attached furnished house for the teacher. The school was obviously considered to be efficient by the inspectors as a grant of £33 was obtained in 1868.
By 1880 average attendance had risen to 86, and the grant to £74. Children attended school both mornings and afternoons from Monday to Friday inclusive. Saturday was a free day, but attendance at Sunday school in both the morning and afternoon was required. School holidays were two weeks in August and one week at Christmas.
In 1880 Claygate National School ran into problems of insufficient accommodation — the maximum capacity was 102 pupils — and inadequate toilet facilities. These were not resolved, and so the school closed on 11th February 1881. This led to the formation on 9th April 1881 of the Thames Ditton and Claygate School Board, one of whose objectives was to provide Claygate with a new and larger school. Until this could be built, the Board continued to use the existing school premises in Church Road.
See also
Sources
- Claygate Heritage Trail, (leaflet produced by Claygate Parish Council)
- Peebles, Malcolm (1983). The Claygate Book. (Millennium edition). Stockbridge: by BAS Printers Ltd. ISBN 0-9508978-0-9.
- Many thanks also for the photos, many supplied by Terry Gale, from the Claygate Local History Facebook group.
