St Barnabas's Church, Tunbridge Wells , Kent

St Barnabas's Church, Tunbridge Wells Church

Image Source: Rob Baker

Unique amongst the Anglican churches of Tunbridge Wells as the only one to practise an Anglo-Catholic tradition, St. Barnabas was built between 1887-89. It is a huge red-bricked barn of a church, a typical architectural design of the Cutts brothers, J.E.K. (John Edward Knight) and J.P. (John Priston). Now located among terrace houses and modern flats, it was built on a piece of land originally used as a 19th century quarry and then a refuse dump. It owes its existence to Rev. Christopher Ridley Pearson, the first vicar of the nearby St. James' church (built 1860-62). Pearson was concerned for the welfare of the poorer people of the parish, who were less inclined to attend church services with the wealthier parishioners "up the hill." Tunbridge Wells' much remarked-upon "upper-middle class" residents needed a number of employees to serve them: servants, tradesmen, artisans etc. It was in these tightly packed terraced houses just to the north of the town centre where they resided. With community needs in mind, St. Barnabas was constructed with a mortuary chapel below the east end. Living in cramped and often unsanitary conditions, the 19th century poorer families regularly had to leave their deceased at home for several days until they could be collected by the undertakers: here was a purpose-built chapel in the crypt where the dead could be laid out with more dignity. This chapel with its stone altar and vaulted roof is no longer used, but is occasionally open to the public. The Victorian-era was also regularly often marred by sectarian turbulence, and no history of St. Barnabas is complete without mentioning the prevailing anti-Catholic mood of the time. The most senior clergyman in Tunbridge Wells was staunch evangelical Canon Edward Hoare of the Parish Church of Holy Trinity (now closed and the home of the Trinity theatre). He was nicknamed the "Protestant Pontiff of Tunbridge Wells." Hoare had arrived in 1853 from Christ Church, Ramsgate, a church founded in 1847 with a strong conservative evangelical tradition. He had no tolerance for the Tractarian (or Oxford) movement and viewed Anglo-Catholic practices with suspicion. Frowned upon were the placing of candles upon the altar; bowing, genuflecting and the use of incense - even the wearing of Eucharistic vestments! In contrast, Rev. Pearson was also a traditional evangelical churchman, but was more sympathetic to High Church ritual, firmly believing that Anglo-Catholicism and Evangelicalism were two sides of the same coin. In 1870 his curate, Fr. Harry Hitchcock, built St. Stephen's Mission Church on the site of the present St. Barnabas. Anglo-Catholic worship flourished and proved to be popular, with people travelling from other parishes, but soon Canon Hoare intervened. In 1875 he closed St. Stephen's, removed Fr. Hitchcock's licence and severely censured Rev. Pearson. Pearson was undeterred, and in 1881 the new Parish of St. Barnabas was created. St. Stephen's had reopened and had been renamed St. Barnabas. It had also been extended and enlarged, but it was clear a larger church was needed, and so the present day St. Barnabas came into being. St. Stephen's was demolished and in 1886 the congregation crammed into a temporary iron Mission Church in Vernon Road, dedicated to the Good Shepherd. They remained there until 1889 when St. Barnabas was opened. The total cost of the work amounted to £15,000. The church has changed little since the late Victorian-era, although the original plans included a tall tower and spire in the south-west corner, almost doubling the height of the church. This ambitious (and possibly unsafe) project was never fulfilled, and in 1932 a large porch was constructed in its place. The church was slightly reduced in height in 1992 when the flèche, between the nave and chancel, was removed. Despite that minor alteration, the size and scale of the church is still breathtaking. Rows of lancet windows in the clerestory above the five bay nave allow the interior to be bathed with shafts of natural sunlight. The windows were all manufactured by the firm of Heaton, Butler & Bayne and date from the 1880s to the 1920s. The east windows are topped by a large mandorla depicting Christ in Majesty, although a similar design for the west window, depicting Christ as the Second Advent, was never executed. The large west windows contain plain grizaille glass, which - due to amount of light they let in - is no bad thing! Single lancets along the north and south aisles depict male and female saints, with seven on each side. To the north are St. George, St. Gregory, St. Chad, the Venerable Bede, St. Augustine of Hippo, St. Hugh and St. Alphege; while to the south are St. Cecilia, St. Catherine, St. Agnes, St. Faith, Sr. Etheldreda, St. Mary Magdalene and St. Anne. The three bay chancel is reached via a set of steps. Dividing the nave from the chancel underneath an enormous stone-dressed arch is the original wrought-iron rood screen, designed by Henry Hems of Exeter and manufactured by Singer of Frome. Further steps lead up to the sanctuary and the High Altar, which is also original, with panels of four angels flanking the Agnus Dei. This is hidden under the altarcloth, so is only seen at Eastertide. The reredos features at its centre a figure of the crucified Christ made by Oscar Zwink in 1931. The framework had been erected as early as 1914. Milner & Craze, architects of the Anglo-Catholic Shrine at Walsingham, completed the design in 1947. The same firm also designed the canopy (ciborium) over the baptistry, added in 1952. The marble font is Victorian. Wartime poet Siegfried Sassoon was baptised here. The seperately roofed south chapel is built on the site of the former St. Stephen's Mission Church and retains that dedication. It contains the original altar and stained-glass east window from that short-lived church, which had been designed by a notable architect, Arthur Blomfield. The reredos, designed in the 1940s by Martin Travers, replaced an earlier one by Ninian Comper. The theme is Christian martyrdom, and in addition to St. Stephen, depicts St. Thomas of Canterbury (Becket), St. Laurence and St. Clement. St. Stephen's chapel also houses the organ console. The organ loft and pipes are at first floor level to the north of the chancel, reached by a metal spiral staircase. Beneath is the Lady Chapel, refurbished in the 1920s by G.H. (George Halford) Fellowes-Prynne. It contains the Parish War Memorial and featuring another ornate reredos designed by Travers depicting four doctors of the Early Church: St. Augustine of Hippo, St. Gregory the Great, St. Jerome and St. Ambrose of Milan. It is topped by a beautiful canopy (tester) featuring a dove at its centre to represent the Holy Spirit. The Latin words for the Gifts of the Spirit radiate outwards in seven directions: Pietas (to the east), Intellectus, Sapienta, Scientia, Fortituda, Consilium and Timor Domini. The magnificent alabaster pulpit is still used today. Since 1928 it has been complemented by an art-deco lectern made out of rectangular panels of pink marble, the work of architect A.J.N. (Ambrose) Russell.A late piece of Ninian Comper's work can be seen in the statue of St. Barnabas, which stands against the north-western pier of the nave. Comper also designed the processional banner of the Virgin Mary which hangs in the sanctuary. In keeping with Catholic tradition there are a number of statues and shrines in various areas of the church. The Virgin & Child can be seen in the south-east corner, next to the lectern. The north-west corner, in front of a blocked-up doorway that originally led outside, is devoted to Our Lady of Walsingham. There are also areas dedicated to St. John Vianney, St. Francis de Sales and St. Teresa of Avila, and an enclosed area set aside for Confessions. Text by Rob Baker Unlike a number of other churches designed by the Cutts Brothers, it has been given a Grade II* listing, largely on account of the quality of the internal furnishings, which reflect St. Barnabas' Anglo-Catholic tradition and style of ecclesiastical worship that has barely altered since the late Victorian-era.

1851 Census Details

Seating Capacity: Not built

Morning Attendance: Not built

Afternoon Attendance: Not built

Evening Attendance: Not built

Architecture Details

Original Build Date/Architect: Cutts 1889

Restoration:

Second Restoration:

Notes

Website

http://www.sbarnabas.com

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