St Thomas à Becket Church, Warblington facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St Thomas à Becket Church
The church from the southwest
50°50′37″N 0°57′58″W / 50.8437°N 0.9660°W / 50.8437; -0.9660
Location	Church Lane, Warblington, Havant, Hampshire PO9 2TU
Country	United Kingdom
Denomination	Church of England
Previous denomination	Roman Catholic
History
Status	Parish church
Founded	11th century
Dedication	Thomas Becket
Dedicated	1796 (previously dedicated to Our Lady)
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade I
Designated	16 May 1952
Style	Transitional/Early English Gothic
Administration
Parish	Warblington with Emsworth
Deanery	Havant
Archdeaconry	Portsdown
Diocese	Portsmouth

The St Thomas à Becket Church is a very old church in Warblington, Hampshire, England. It is part of the Church of England. People sometimes call it St Thomas of Canterbury's Church. Before 1796, it was known as the Church of Our Lady.

This church was first built way back in the Saxon times. You can still see some parts of the original Saxon building today! Most of the church you see now was built in the 1100s and 1200s. Not much was changed in the 1800s.

The church is in a quiet, rural area next to a farm. It has a large churchyard. In the 1800s, this quiet spot made it a target for "body snatchers." These were people who secretly dug up bodies from graves. They would then sell the bodies to doctors for study. To stop this, two small huts were built in the churchyard. People called "grave-watchers" would stay in these huts to guard the graves. These huts are still there today!

Warblington is now a part of a larger town area. The church is about 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) from the center of Havant. It sits in a peaceful spot between a main road and the English Channel. For a long time, this church served a big area, including the nearby town of Emsworth. Now, the areas of Warblington and Emsworth are together again. Regular church services are held at St Thomas à Becket and at St James's Church in Emsworth.

The church is a very important building. It is listed as a Grade I building. This means it has great historical and architectural value. The two grave-watchers' huts in the churchyard are also listed as Grade II buildings. The churchyard also has many old and interesting gravestones from the mid-1700s. Inside the church, you can find old monuments and special tiles from the 1200s.

History of the Church

Warblington is now a suburban area near Havant. But long ago, the main village was a small group of houses further south. It was surrounded by fields, close to a large farm, the old manor house (now a ruin called Warblington Castle), and the original church. Over time, the village moved north. This might have happened because Emsworth grew bigger, or because of the Black Death, or when a deer park was made around the manor house.

Early Beginnings: Saxon Times

The area of Warblington was mentioned in the Domesday Book in 1086. Even then, a church already stood on the same spot as the current building's chancel (the area around the altar). The only part left from this very old Saxon church is the middle section of the tower. This tower section was once the upper part of a porch at the west end of the church. It is now in the middle of the church and is considered its "historical core."

Building a Bigger Church: The 1200s

Around the year 1200, the church was rebuilt and made much larger. More work was done later in the 1200s. From this time, we have the main part of the church, called the nave. It has three sections with aisles on the north and south sides. The upper part of the tower was also added then.

The lowest part of the tower was opened up. This happened when the original nave became the chancel. Later in the 1200s, this old chancel was taken down. A much bigger chancel was built in its place, with a small room called a vestry next to it. The church became much bigger, possibly because Emsworth was growing into an important port town.

Also in the late 1200s or early 1300s, the chancel floor was covered with special glazed tiles. These tiles were similar to ones found at Titchfield Abbey. They were made near Winchester. In the 1400s, a door and a wooden porch were added to the north aisle. Another door was added at the west end in the 1500s.

Changes in Parishes and New Churches

For a long time, people in Emsworth had to travel about 3.2 kilometers (2 miles) to Warblington to go to church. In 1789–90, a smaller church was built in Emsworth's market place. This was a "chapel of ease," meaning it was a convenient place for people to worship. In 1840, this chapel was replaced by St James's Church. The next year, St James's became its own parish church, separate from Warblington. (The parishes of Emsworth and Warblington were joined together again by 1974.)

Guarding the Graves: The Grave-Watchers' Huts

In the 1800s, a serious problem called "body snatching" became common. This meant people would secretly dig up recently buried bodies. They would then sell these bodies to medical schools for study. Warblington was a popular place for body snatchers because its churchyard was quiet and hidden by trees.

To stop this, in 1829–30, the church hired builders to construct two small huts. These huts were for "grave-watchers." These watchers would stand inside the huts and keep an eye out for anyone trying to disturb the graves. The huts are made of flint and brick. One of them was later made bigger and used as a tool shed.

Later in the 1800s, an architect named JH Ball made some small changes to the church. He replaced some windows, added a room for the organ, and put a small spire on top of the tower. He also changed the east window and put a new roof on the chancel. In 1909, a special window shaped like a five-leaf clover was added above the main door.

Fire and Restoration

On January 16, 2011, an accidental fire started in the church because of an electrical problem. The fire itself only damaged some pews at the front. However, smoke filled the whole building. It damaged the organ and the pulpit (where the priest gives sermons).

For several months, the church underwent a big cleaning and repair project. Workers carefully cleaned soot and smoke from the walls, ceiling, floor tiles, windows, and memorials. In July 2011, after all the work was finished, a special ceremony was held to mark the church's reopening.

Church Architecture

The St Thomas à Becket Church shows two main building styles: the Transitional style and the Early English Gothic style. These styles were popular around the time the church was built.

The church has a very long chancel, which is about 13.7 meters (45 feet) long and 4.7 meters (15.5 feet) wide. The nave, the main part where people sit, is a bit narrower. There is also a tower in the middle, an organ room, a vestry, and aisles on both sides of the nave. A porch is on the north side.

The Tower

The middle part of the tower is the oldest section of the church. It was built even before the Norman conquest of England in 1066. It is about 2.7 meters (9 feet) square on the outside. The walls are very thick, about 0.7 meters (2.25 feet). The north and south walls have simple arched openings.

The top part of the tower was added in the 1200s. It has tall, narrow windows called lancet windows. The very top section, added in the 1800s, has a small, shingled spire. Inside, the tower is supported by two arched openings.

The Nave and Aisles

The nave is quite wide and has three sections. Each section has a lancet window that sticks out above the roof, looking like small gabled windows. This gives the church a unique and interesting look.

On either side of the nave are the aisles. They have different designs, even though they were built around the same time in the 1200s. The south aisle has beautiful octagonal pillars made of Purbeck Marble. These pillars have detailed carvings of leaves at the top. They are similar to carvings found in nearby Chichester Cathedral. The north aisle is simpler, with round columns.

Windows and Other Features

The east end of the chancel and vestry have windows with three or two sections. These windows have decorative stone patterns added in the 1800s. One old medieval lancet window still remains in the north wall of the vestry. Some windows on the south side have their original frames but were replaced in the 1300s or 1400s. The main west window above the entrance has three stepped lancet windows.

Between the vestry and the chancel, there is a small opening called a squint. It has a sliding panel. This allowed people in the vestry to see the altar during services. The "fine medieval porch" on the north side has high-quality wooden carvings from the 1300s or 1400s.

Monuments and Churchyard

The area around Warblington was known for its skilled stone carvers in the 1700s. They made beautiful memorial tablets and monuments for churches. St Thomas à Becket Church has many examples of their work, both inside and in the churchyard.

Inside the Church

You can find two stone figures from the 1300s inside. One shows a praying figure in a long gown. Another shows a lady with her hands by her sides. Her face is still visible, even though the stone is worn. Historians think these might be daughters of Robert Aguillon, who owned land in Emsworth.

On the walls, there are several decorative plaques from the late 1700s and early 1800s. Many of these were made by the Morey family of sculptors. These local artists were especially good at carving cherubs, and you can see many of these figures. There is also a brass plaque from the late 1500s. It shows Raffe Smalpage, a chaplain, kneeling at a desk.

The Churchyard and Grave-Watchers' Huts

The churchyard has a wonderful collection of carved gravestones made of limestone. Many of them tell stories or show pictures of real events. Some even show nautical scenes! For example, one shows HMS Torbay on fire in Portsmouth Harbour, remembering a sailor who died in 1758. Another from the next year shows Dublin Bay, where a sailor's ship sank. Another gravestone shows an unknown ship and remembers a sailor who was forced into the navy.

The grave-watchers' huts, built in 1829–30, are at the northwest and southeast corners of the churchyard. They are made of flint with red brick details and slate roofs. They have pointed arched doorways and windows with shutters. The hut on the southeast side has a stone chimney. The one on the northwest side is larger because it was extended, and it was also used to store tools.

The Church Today

The St Thomas à Becket Church was officially listed as a Grade I building on May 16, 1952. This means it is considered to be of "exceptional interest" and more important than just a local building. As of 2001, it was one of only two Grade I listed buildings in the Borough of Havant. The grave-watchers' huts were listed as Grade II on the same date. This means they are "nationally important and of special interest."

As of 2020, St Thomas à Becket Church holds Holy Communion services twice a month. It also has a weekly Matins service (a morning prayer service), which is replaced once a month by another Holy Communion service. There is also a monthly evening service. Other services for the parish are held at St James's Church in Emsworth or together with the Methodist church in Emsworth.

See also

• List of places of worship in the Borough of Havant