Shiplake Parish Church – St. Peter & St. Paul:
The Church occupies high ground with views over the Thames Valley. The south aisle of the building, now the Lady Chapel, formed the original church with the Tower separate. Both date from c.1140. The central nave was added in the following century. There are many points of special interest.
The Lady Chapel: The main entry to the church is through this chapel, it being the original church. The altar is a memorial to the men of Shiplake who lost their lives in the First World War. To the right of the altar is the 12th century piscina. Near the entrance door is a small brass plaque, once in the floor below, which dates from c.1540. The 19th century font is a copy of a Norman font at Iffley, Oxford.
The Nave: Only one stone pillar remains, the others being made from chalk, probably dug from the quarry below the church. The carvings on the stone pillar date from the 13th century. The pulpit is believed to be of Jacobean origin and from All Saints, Dorchester (Dorset) having been given in memory of the second Baron Phillimore.
The Sanctuary: The reredos, in alabaster, dates from the 1869/70 restoration of the church. A canopied chair, used by the Bishop, is considered to date from the 15th century and is believed to have belonged to an abbess in Northern France.
The Windows: Shiplake’s mediaeval glass is also of French origin and came from the ruined Abbey of St. Bertin in St. Omer, having been rescued from the Abbey during the French Revolution and buried for safe keeping. The glass was later disinterred and some purchased by the Rev. John Boteler of Henley for his friend the Rev. Arthur Howman, the then Vicar of Shiplake. More was purchased in 1830 and gradually the pieces were leaded together and installed in the church. The mediaeval glass is seen in the east window above the high altar, in the south east window of the chancel, and in the east and west windows of the Lady Chapel.
The Church Plate includes an Elizabethan chalice and Communion plate from the late 16th century.
The Bells: Shiplake now has a ring of eight bells and are in the process of being replaced. Earliest mention of Shiplake’s bells is in an inventory dating from the reign of Edward VI (1547-53) when there was a ring of three bells, and by the time of the marriage of Tennyson there in 1850 they numbered five, which increased to a ring of eight bells in 1902 in commemoration of Queen Victoria’s long reign.
The church has a good sized Vestry which is currently used by the Sunday Club children during the service and for coffee after services. There is also a priest’s vestry.
Shiplake church has a Fair Trade Certificate
A quinquennial inspection has taken place in 2009.
Dunsden Parish Church – All Saints:
Dunsden Parish was created in 1876 out of the Parish of St. Andrew’s, Sonning. The church was built in 1842 with money donated by the Palmer family at Holme Park, Sonning (now the Bluecoat School). It was served as a “chapel-of-ease” by clergy from Sonning until the first Vicar (previously a curate at Sonning) was appointed in 1876. (A Vicarage was built at Dunsden, now called Glebe House, and a new vicarage was built in 1965, but this was sold when the last vicar left in 1977 and is now known as “Not The Vicarage”). In 1977 the parish was amalgamated with Shiplake.
The church is quite a large, uncluttered, unpretentious Victorian building seating about 170. It has a wide nave furnished with deal pews, and a chancel and sanctuary that were added in 1875, with oak choir stalls and a carved stone reredos. The stone pulpit, by Henry Woodyer, was moved to All Saints from St. Andrew’s, Sonning; the font is also of stone. The stained glass is by John Harding, a well-known, indeed famous, Victorian artist in stained glass.
There is a very fine small pipe organ, built by John Holdich in 1875.
There is an area at the west end where pews have been rearranged and a space provided for serving refreshments, and where small children can play with toys and books provided during services.
Wilfred Owen, the WWI war poet, was lay assistant to the Vicar of All Saints from 1911-1913, and his parents and sister are buried in the churchyard.
The church stands in farmland on a narrow lane that connects Dunsden Green with the road between Emmer Green and Harpsden. There are only a few adjacent houses, the majority of the congregation coming from Emmer Green and Caversham. Because of its isolated position, the church is kept locked.
Dunsden (continued)
The churchyard has been twice extended, in 1927 and in 2000. A large car park, for 50 cars, was built in 2006 on land donated by the Phillimore Estates. A flint and brick building used formerly to house the bier, was turned into a disabled toilet with storage facilities in 2004.
There is extensive damp in the north wall of the church, which is being investigated. A Quinquennial Inspection will take place in 2009.
Note: The Benifice also includes the ancient church building of St Margaret, situated in Harpsden.
Harpsden cum Bolney Parish Church – St. Margaret of Antioch:
The parish of Harpsden, as it has existed for the last 500 years, is an amalgamation of what were once two completely separate places: Harpsden and Bolney, both of which are recorded in Domesday Book. The present church, approximately two miles from Shiplake Church, is believed to date from the 12th century. Although it has been restored, it still retains the common Norman plan of a nave (aisle-less before the 19th century) which is separated from the chancel by an arch. The chancel would then have taken the form of a Norman round-headed apse which was developed into the present chancel in the 14th century.
The church is built of local flint and was originally entered from the south through a round-arched doorway of chalk, which still exists: one of the original consecration crosses was discovered when this doorway was opened up for access to St. Peter’s Vestry, which was added in 1973. This room and kitchen are in the modern style and used by the choir for their storage, the Sunday School children during the morning service, as well as the various groups for their meetings – e.g. prayer groups and PCC meetings. The congregation is encouraged to get together here after the service for coffee and chat. It is approached through the Norman arch via a hall in which is a cloakroom and storage cupboard.
Originally the church was lit only by small round-headed windows, all of which have been replaced and the church notably brightened by the insertion of larger Gothic-arched windows, in the 14th century. The tub-shaped Norman font and round-headed piscina are still in regular use, the latter having relocated to its present spot when the chancel replaced the Norman apse.
Traces of colourful mediaeval interior decoration and mediaeval monuments still survive today. On the north side of the chancel is an effigy of a knight, said to have been carved by Abingdon masons in the 14th century. Three pre-Reformation brasses name members of local families dating from 1460 to 1511, one of which shows Sir Walter Elmes, the Rector, seen wearing eucharistic vestments. There are several references to the Elmes family, lords of the manor of Bolney, in the parish registers.
A small Priest’s Vestry is approached through an archway to the north of the chancel.
In the grounds of the church stands The Oratory. This has been created from the original Lich which led into the grounds of the Manor House behind the church. Permission was granted by the owners of the house to build the room, and it has been used as a quiet place of prayer over many years. The door is kept open at all times and on occasions has been used as an overnight refuge. Last year lights and power were installed in the room so that it can be used as an overspill area for the Sunday School children as they have outgrown the vestry. Plans are now in the early stages for the building of a separate building in the church grounds for multi-purpose use but primarily for the Sunday School activities.