LONG DAYS
In this country we are now in the
season of the year when we enjoy the maximum number of daylight
hours. This is time which stirs delightful memories for many of
us. Perhaps we remember long, lazy days beside the sea:
sunbathing, swimming, sandcastles, beach games, exploring rock
pools and, of course, the sandy picnics and the ice creams,
followed by incredibly beautiful sunsets reflecting in the
rippling water.
Others will connect long days
with more strenuous activity. Perhaps it is the exhilaration of
majestic mountains to be climbed, or long days spent walking
through beautiful countryside, skin caressed by refreshing
breezes and warm sunlight, and carpets of fascinating flora at
our feet. On the other hand it may be riding (on four legs or
two wheels) along ancient pathways, perhaps with canopies of
green leaves overhead and bright shafts of sunlight breaking
through to surprise us and draw attention to wonderful features
of the landscape which we might usually pass without noticing.
These pleasant thoughts will
often lead us to memories of times spent with those we hold most
dear: parents, siblings, partners, grandchildren and friends,
and perhaps most poignantly of those from whom we are now
separated. How very precious those memories remain as the years
pass by.
Unfortunately not all long days
have such happy connections. Many will remember battling their
way through long, hot days of hard work, sustained by thoughts
of returning home to have a refreshing shower and enjoy the cool
of evening in the open air. Others will find themselves unable
to find any enjoyment in the best of long summer days because of
the circumstances with which they are wrestling. Long days can
only seem the longer and more unbearable as we anxiously wait
beside a sick bed, look for news of an absent loved one, or
struggle with our own sickness and pain. Awaiting important
examination results (medical or educational), the outcome of an
interview, or pending decisions about redundancies can also seem
to lengthen the hours and rob them of much joy. Trying to work
through difficulties with relationships or finances can have a
similar effect.
Christians experience these joys
and difficulties, just like everyone else, but they do so
believing that God understands, cares about and shares in their
present situation. They also see in these long summer days a
reminder that he has promised eternal life to his followers: not
long days of mixed happiness and pain or anxiety, but
never-ending times of total happiness in God’s company, far
better than the best long day we can even imagine on earth.
Edith Martin
A BRIEF GUIDE TO NEWCHURCH CHURCH
Three things strike you about the
parish church of St. Peter and St. Paul, Newchurch: the size, so
much larger than the average church on Romney Marsh; the leaning
tower; and the fine peal of bells.
When you first walk into the church you get the
impression of spaciousness; it is large and tall; the lancet
windows in the chancel illustrate how the architect was striving for
light and height in the Early English Gothic style.
The eastern end is divided into three main sections. The chancel and east window is where the main worship now takes
place in the church. The whole of the church is used on rare
occasions, such as large funerals, or for example on the
installation of the rector when numerous local worthies are invited to welcome the new incumbent; or for Harvest Supper, a very
successful day in the Newchurch calendar.
Looking towards the east, on either side of the
chancel are additional chapels. The one on the left is perfectly
plain and a reduced wooden screen separates it from the main body of
the church. It is dedicated to St. Michael and St.Thomas of
Canterbury, and at one time was used for the Sunday school. On one
wall is a rough, plain piscina, matching the one at the North
entrance to the church. It is in this chapel that the series of
History Panels, recording the life and history of the village of
Newchurch are exhibited. Documents and pictures charting the
history of the village from as far back as the Domesday Book are on
permanent display on behalf of Newchurch Parish Council.
The chapel on
the right of the main chancel is the Lady Chapel, set up as a place
of private prayer with a triptych of the Virgin Mary on the altar
and a statue of the Virgin set in an ornate wall plinth, next to
which is the remains of a simple aumbry. Fragmentary remains of
mediaeval glass are in the window above the altar, worth looking at
through binoculars, and the window on the South wall is unlike any
other in the church being very ornate although of plain glass. The
oak screen separating the chapel from the main body of the church is
in better condition than the one on the left.
The chancel
itself rises gradually by shallow steps to the altar under the East
window. There are few brasses or memorials; one notes that the
church was restored between 1909 and 1915 by the rector of the time,
the Revd George Brocklehurst, M.A. and his wife Rose Mary. Other
memorials are from the First World War: Arthur Henry Link, born
April 17, 1888, killed in action at sea in 1917; and Frederick
Charles Rogers, killed at Ypres in 1916, aged 25.The organ is
believed to be from the 18th Century and the blower was given in
memory of Edward John and Sarah Elizabeth Homewood, 1961. In 2005 a
loudspeaker was added to the organ giving it increased power and
volume; this was given in memory of Libby Baxter by her husband
farmer Peter Baxter.
In 1997 cracks were noticed in the chancel walls; surveyors and architects agreed that the roof was pushing the walls
outwards, and that a tie was needed across the chancel to hold them
firm. This was installed in June 2002 and immediately an
improvement was detected. It is possible that 200 years ago, when
the stained glass East window was erected, a wooden beam similar to
others in the chancel had been removed on the grounds that the new
window was partially hidden from view
So why is Newchurch so different for example from
Dymchurch and Burmarsh, the other churches in the Benefice? There
are no traces of Norman work as may be found in the other parishes,
and this church is roughly 100 years younger than them, although as
Newchurch was mentioned in the Domesday book, it is thought that
possibly a wooden Saxon church had been here on the site
beforehand.
The answer is that it is thought that this church was
built as a chantry about 1240, where monks could pray for the souls
of their benefactors. The idea of giving money to a church, or for
example, an altarpiece such as at Ghent, where the donors are
depicted among other saints, and where prayers were said for the
repose of their souls, was commonplace in the mediaeval period in
particular by wealthy people who had no children. The three
chancels would have been used for prayers, the monks paid for by
money left for the purpose, and the rest of the building would have
been mainly for the villagers and used as a village hall for a
variety of purposes such as fairs and sales.
After the Reformation people learned to speak
directly to God helped by the priest or rector, partly by
exhortation from the pulpit. Here the pulpit was installed about
1600 and is of linenfold design. The font, which is towards the
West end of the church, is eight-sided with decorations on several
sides, the crossed keys of St. Peter, the sword of St. Paul, and
three roses, two large roses of Yorkshire and Lancashire, and one
Tudor rose, giving the impression that it was installed at the end
of the Wars of the Roses or during the reign of Henry VII, the
first of the Tudor Monarchs.
Elegant eighteenth century script can be seen on
panels either side of the door into the vestry: the Creed and the
Lord’s Prayer flank the Ten Commandments.
Facing the
West Door, looking at the tower, one feels apprehensive at the angle
of the pillars and arch as they lean away from the church. These
were built in the fifteenth century and after subsidence the project
was abandoned. When it became clear that the land had settled, the
tower was continued straight up, so looking at it outside from the
north, it is apparent that it curves outward and then goes straight
up. Looking out from the top, one feels quite perilous, as if there
is nothing underneath! There are six bells: the tenor, fifth,
fourth and third date from 1637; the second was added in 1845; and
the treble was made by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry in 1969. The
bells are well used both by enthusiasts from the village, and by
visiting teams.
From the outside, the West door appears peppered with
shot, thought to be when Revenue Officers chased a smuggler, who
then disappeared, falling into a newly-dug grave. Was Russell
Thorndike inspired by such a tale?
A large old church in a small Marsh village means a
great deal of work and fundraising for a dedicated few; they are to
be commended.
