Jesus be our Spede

The Restoration of 1835 - 1841

One part of the Church having been dealt with it was felt that the rest must be restored, so in 1839 the Nave and Aisles, were attended to under the direction of Thomas Trubshaw, F.S.A., a descendant of Edward Trubshaw who was in charge in 1655. The fourth arch was opened up again and the Nave extended but not quite to its original length because the foundations were hidden and memory of them lost. A new roof (the present roof) was put on the Nave and Aisles, and new pews (not the present ones) were, put in the centre aisle to replace those which faced the wrong way, and wherever possible the oak of Digby's pews was used. A new Vestry was added, and the old Chantry Chapel window moved back to light it. Two piscinas were uncovered in the north and south aisles, part of the old Rood Loft Stairs was revealed, the Norman Font was brought to light again, and fragments of the ancient Screen still in position under the Pew with a centre which had formed part of a fine old press were converted into a Reredos, and everything in the Church, Altar, Pulpit and Pews were made to look new and fresh by the application of plenty of paint and varnish. To show what all this painting of good oak looked like, the inside of the Vicar's Desk still bears the paint so liberally applied in 1839. Larger and more elaborate pinnacles were erected on the Tower to replace the old ones which were sadly worn by the weather but were worked up into a cross in the Vicarage garden as a memorial to Bishop Ryder of Lichfield, a member of the Harrowby Family, whose memorial kneeling figure can be seen in the Presbytery in Lichfield Cathedral.

The Monumental Brasses

In 1851 the Earl of Harrowby entirely refaced the North Aisle with stone and had inserted in the stonework a number of enriched Gothic style arcades with marble pillars and Caen stone capitals to accommodate illuminated brasses in memory of members of his family. The smaller window in the North wall was added at this time to provide the light lost by the removal of the east window into the Vestry.

The Lectern was given by Tenants and Parishioners as a Memorial to the 2nd Earl of Harrowby.

The Organ

On Palm Sunday, 1854, the new Organ (the present one) was dedicated. It then stood against the middle of the South Wall of the South Aisle (the present Lady Chapel) and the choir sat by the side of it. About 1891 a second manual and pedals were added. In 1923 the Organ was moved from the South Aisle into a gallery over the Porch and the Choir now sat at the West end of the Church and were linked to the Organist by a microphone in the Choir and an amplifier and loud speaker in the Organ Loft. The Organ Console and Pipes were placed in their present position in 1947.

Additions up to 1928

Between 1901 and 1903 Lord Harrowby carried out a considerable amount of structural repairs. In 1904 the Church was equipped with an acetylene lighting plant as a result of the generosity of Mr. Stubbs of Burston Hall. In 1918 the heating apparatus was modernised, and in 1921, the paint and varnish having been cleaned off the Pulpit, oak stairs were provided for it, and a new Vicar's Stall was made out of the oak of some of the old Digby pews.

In 1923 the entire Church was re-seated and wherever possible the old oak was cleaned of its paint and incorporated, and new block wood floors were laid down under the seats. In 1925 the Tower was restored. In 1928 the two pews left in the North Aisle were removed and replaced by stone paving and steps, and the Jacobean Font (previously situated under the fourth arch) was removed to the new paving and the old Norman Font returned to the West end. The north side of the North Aisle was panelled, and a Litany Desk provided which now serves as the Priest's Desk in the Lady Chapel. A new oak Main Entrance Door and Vestry Door were given in 1929, the first anonymously, the second by Mrs. Lindop in memory of her husband Thomas Sylvester Lindop, Churchwarden from 1918 to 1927, designed and worked by Messrs. Bridgeman of Lichfield.

Continued