A memoire by Fr Piers Nash-Williams (vicar 1972-1991)
This formed part of the 70th Anniversary Service, on the first Sunday in Advent 2003, and was, by necessity, extremely brief!
When Saint George's was first built, it could not be completed, for lack of money. The original building consisted of the chancel, the Lady Chapel, the Memorial Chapel, and the two transepts, with the arch boarded across where the nave was to be. At that time, the Vicarage was at 188 Andover Road. Eden's original design provided for an imposing west door, facing out onto what is now the Vicarage garden. When the building was completed in 1965, it was redesigned by John Griffin, who also designed the present Vicarage, built a year later.
John believed that the church needed a west entrance which nevertheless faced east, towards the Andover Road. He achieved this by providing the detached campanile, joined to the building by the cloister. At that time, the cloister and the door into the lobby provided the main entrance to the church. The campanile could take a small ring of bells, if ever we wished.
For years, the only church hall was the original Saint Luke's Church, now used by the New Era Players. John Griffin drew up plans for a mainly prefabricated hall, on a site which overlapped that of the present hall. Work began in 1973, and for several years the New Hall threatened to dominate the life of the parish. There were hold-ups, costs rose, faults developed, and it became a constant source of friction and worry. We received a loan from the Diocese, and saddled ourselves with what seemed an enormous debt £1,600 if I remember rightly. After the recent Development Project, it seems odd that we should have been so worried about this debt. Two members of the congregation, Ted Revill and Bill Colbourne, undertook to keep an eye on the work. At times this was necessary, but it was not popular with some of the workmen, who felt inhibited by the constant presence of the man in bicycle clips!The work was eventually finished, and the debt paid off. One later development was significant.
To provide access for the disabled, we had a ramp constructed, linking the south door of the church with the entrance to the New Hall, the car-park and the lawn. When the ramp was built, we were concerned that it should be possible to wheel Doris Page (of Responaut fame) into church in her bed. The ramp was designed with this in mind, though, sadly, we were never to take advantage of this feature of it.
When I first came, there were three altars in the church the high altar, and those in the Lady Chapel and the Memorial Chapel. At that time, the priest still celebrated the Eucharist standing to the west of the altar. Quite early in my time, the congregation asked that the priest should face the people across the altar, and this worked well. Two developments followed: First, we acquired a table from Saint Mary s Church, Speenhamland, which was about to be demolished, and had it converted by Fr Legh McCarthy into a proper altar, so that on occasions we could celebrate the Eucharist round it. Secondly, we tried two experiments with a central altar, but somehow didn t manage to get it right. I was delighted when, in Fr Malcolm's time, this was made a reality.
That New Hall was, as I have said, mainly prefabricated, and its life was limited. We also needed a smaller room than the hall for meetings and other activities, and a decent Parish Office. The previous office was the little cubbyhole between the stairs and the original south wall. There worked Charles Longden, the Parish Secretary, a much-troubled man, who was greatly loved by everyone. I have mentioned Bill Colbourne and Charles Longden. Other names spring to mind, as leading figures at that time: Mary Colbourne, Bill's wife; Bob Sandford, the Verger (who thought it disrespectful to call me anything but Vicar; I remember him once accepting a glass of sherry with the words, Best respects, Vicar!), and his wife, Mary; George and Penelope Collins; Kath Thomason (Mrs T); John Allen; Frank Perrow, a lovely, prayerful old man, once Churchwarden. I have deliberately only mentioned those who are no longer with us in this world; and the roll of honour could go on endlessly. And of course, now we must add to it the name of Raymond Taylor. Already there were pointers to things that have happened since, but others shall tell of them...
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