meeting the spiritual wants of the new suburbs. If it had not been for
the noble band who gathered round Bishop Bloomfield what a different
account would have had to be rendered now. Let us trust and believe
that when all of us have passed away it will be found that God has
raised up a succession of faithful servants; men of every business and
profession who will still regard the profession of Jesus Christ as the
most noble of all, for no profession was more noble than the service of
the Heavenly King. Let us trust that with dangers around us the spirit
of vigorous Christianity may continue to be triumphant as it had been
in so many instances already. Let us trust to the good work begun and
carried forward during the last fifty years will flourish with God's
blessing for many years to come."
"The new church is a plain Gothic structure built of red and stock
bricks, and is 90 feet long by 70 feet wide. It consists of a nave,
chancel, and two aisles, surmounted with a timber roof of three spans
covered with red tiles. There are two entrances, one in Chatham Road
and the other in Darley Road; the former surmounted by a figure of
St. Michael in conflict with the serpent. There is also a small tower
containing a bell weighing 2 cwt. There is a commodious crypt beneath
the chancel. The latter contains three rows of stalls for the clergy
and choir, and is lighted by six small windows of stained glass, in
each of which there is an angel exquisitely executed from the Studio
of Messrs. Lavers, Barraud and Westlake. It is also intended to place
a reredos of white marble here. The altar is approached from the nave
by nine steps. The nave communicates with the aisles by large Gothic
arches supported on octagonal pillars of 'granolith'--a material
composed of granite chips and Portland cement. The floor is of blocks
of wood and the building is 'pewed' with open benches to accommodate
about 750 worshippers. The pulpit (a memorial gift by Mr. Verdon's
widow) is of carved oak with a base of Caen stone, and is reached by
a short flight of stone steps. Behind the pulpit in the south aisle
is the organ, which has been brought from St. Luke's church, Derby,
and was built by Mr. Abbott of Leeds. At the west end of the church
is a font (which is in memory of a loved grandchild of Mr. Cazenove)
of veined marble supported by nine columns of polished granite and
Caen stone. It is surmounted by a polished oak cover and is a gift 'to
the glory of God and the memory of Philip Henry Hessey.' The church
is warmed with hot air. It has been erected by Mr. J. D. Hobson, from
the designs of Mr. White, F.S.A. The total cost is £4500, which (with
the exception of £800 unpaid at the commencement of the dedication
services) had all been contributed by the relatives and friends of the
late H. B. Verdon and Philip Cazenove. The church is provided with
prayer books, hymn books, and kneelers throughout."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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