Centuries of Change: History of Colchester Arts Centre the Former Church of St. Mary's at the Walls.

Preface

My interest in history goes back over forty years. I remember as a child, going to the Sunday service at my local church, St. Peter’s in Berkhamsted, with my grandparents. Afterwards, when they were talking to their friends, I would take time to look around the church and explore, often into places I wasn’t supposed to go! I was fascinated by the age and splendour of the building, marvelling at the two rows of stone columns which traversed the nave supporting the clerestory windows and high ceiling above. I would look up at the stained-glass windows, reading the inscriptions written into the glass, wondering who these people were. I read some of the wall plaques and other inscriptions located around the church, all lamenting in remembrance to past parishioners. I was excited when I saw for the first time the impressive chest tomb located behind the main alter. It was adorned with two stone figures, a medieval knight and his wife, lying side by side, and knew that it belonged to someone important. History lessons at school were interesting, but to me there was nothing more interesting than learning about a person, their exploits and achievements, even more so visiting the places where these events occurred.

From this early age, going to church was to me more than just about prayers and singing hymns. It was a journey of discovery to uncover more stories of all those ordinary people who helped shape our towns and cities, and their impact upon the society in which they lived. Since then, I’ve travelled extensively around this country, always making a point of visiting some of the parish churches in the places I’ve been to, as well as some of our great cathedrals. All of these buildings are little pockets of history, containing artefacts, wall plaques, stained glass windows; an interesting history, along with some fascinating stories relating to the people who were once associated with them. All these churches were architecturally different, variable in size, some with impressive towers, others with small spires, all inspiring and of historical importance.

After relocating to Colchester some years ago, I began to discover more of the history which this town had to offer. I knew from my school days, about the Romans, and their long association with the town, and I still marvel today at the sections of Roman wall which still remain. As I started to learn about Colchester’s incredibly rich and diverse history, the more I wanted read in order to discover something new. The history books told the stories of the town’s past events, but what I wanted to discover the people behind those stories, and Colchester’s churches provided many of the answers. They were not to disappoint at all, far from it, as I embarked on a journey of discovery to see what I could learn from the parish records. The question was; which church to fully research first? I began with the church which looked the most interesting visually from the outside, and that was St. Mary’s at the Walls. Surly a modern looking brick built church, with a repaired tower, would be a good place to start, especially as I had learned from the history books, that this church was associated with the 1648 Siege of Colchester.

I was optimistic of finding a good story or two here and so went along to find out what time the Sunday service started. Ok, so the church was no longer a place of worship, but an arts centre hosting comedy and music nights and a monthly farmer’s market! I only had to wait a few days until the next market day and duly went along, discovering that I could still get bread and wine here, albeit in loaves and bottles! Whilst there, I managed to read some of the wall plaques and this wetted my appetite for more, especially as I was soon to discover, one of them had a Berkhamsted connection!

Discovering the history of this church has been the most interesting of all my history projects to date. Researching the building and development of the last of the three known churches built on this site was the most enjoyable part, especially reading fifty-six years’ worth of parish magazines, produced from 1899 to 1945. Reading them one after another was like enjoying a marathon session with a DVD box set, as the story unfolded further; reading each year one after another. They give a fascinating account into the life of the church and of all those parishioners who made their contributions behind the scenes. The monthly account of the services, church accounts, bible classes, monthly tea meetings, the rector’s holiday details, choir outings and the ‘old folk’s party’ all providing an insight into the sociability and sense of community spirit which existed within the parish. The overall generosity of the parishioners in providing for the church over the years by their numerous donations helped provide for the needs of the church, ensuring its welfare. Here was a large community working together for the good of their church and showing a sense of devotion towards their parish. The parish magazines also told of sadness announcing the deaths of those now departed and of those who had served the church over their entire life for the benefit of others.

From 1904 onwards, the magazines start to feature the new church of Christ Church, charting its origin, building and development, together with the establishment of a new church community and social activities. Here, a new story unfolds, with the magazine telling the story of the two churches working together for the good of one parish.

I hope in reading this book, that you can relate to the story of the church, and that the facts and figures mentioned help put into perspective the financial struggle faced by the church community over the years. Through good times and bad, the congregation has remained loyal in supporting their church, providing for its needs, making donations when asked, probably economising on their own expenditure in order to benefit their church.

When we look at the cost of items from days gone by, our minds automatically equate that amount at today’s values without taking into consideration the real cost in relation to income and the cost of living for the dates stated. If we read that an item cost £100, to us that is affordable, as that is an amount which equates to a day’s income for many of us who are in full time work. However, £100 in 1751 would have an approximate value of £20,000 in 2016, in 1851 approximately £12,000 and in 1951 approximately £3,000. We also have to ask how long it might take someone to earn £100. In 1751 a house maid would earn around £8 per year (approx. £1,600 in 2016) an agricultural labourer around £17 per year (approx. £3,400 in 2016), a skilled engineer around £44 (approx. £8,800 in 2016) a clerk around £64 a year (approx. £12,800 in 2016) and a solicitor around £235 (approx. £47,000 in 2016).

By 1851 only around 2% of the population were earning over £150 per year with a clerk’s income just in that bracket. An average maid could earn £20 a year (approx. £2,400 in 2016) a little more with age and experience, with her food, clothes and lodgings all included, so the overall package was worth more than her actual salary. By 1951 an average working income was around £250 a year with the more professional and managerial jobs paying more. We should also note here that all these values were pre-decimalisation, with the currency at this time split into pounds, shillings and pence. Under the old system, established after the Norman Conquest of 1066, there were 12 pennies in a shilling and 20 shillings, or 240 pence, in a pound. After decimalisation on 15th February 1971 the currency was simplified to just pounds and pence with 100 pence to a pound.

In researching the various fixtures and fittings in the church throughout the years, the archives have also revealed the actual costs of many items including the names some of the generous people who helped pay for them. To read that the new pipe organ cost £600 seems very cheap if you look at that amount in today’s prices. Back in 1891 £600 was a huge amount of money equating to approximately £70,000 in 2016 or around eight to ten year’s income for an average worker. The east window was installed in 1903 at a cost of £275. This also sounds cheap, but back then that amount equated to approximately £30,000 at 2016 prices. We should also note here that if these items were being replaced today, their like for like cost would be considerably more than these estimated amounts, due to the current costs of materials and labour.

There is a section in the book which addresses the various donations made in 1909 for church repairs equating the sums of money donated against income levels at the time. This section not only give us a fascinating insight to the generosity of the congregation, but a snapshot of our social history at that time in relation to the church.

Writing the history of any church also involves researching the parish as well, as the two go together. The story of this parish is just as interesting as the church itself, playing an important part in the story in more ways than one. The Parish of St. Mary’s at the Walls shares its borders with two neighbouring parishes, St. Peters and St. Leonards in Lexden. The boundary with St. Leonards has moved several times in the past seven hundred years, although all those changes aren’t covered in this book.

South view of St. Mary’s Tower, showing the contrast in the brickwork from the various repairs to the tower over the centuries.

West view of St. Mary’s Tower, showing the west window.

West view