^%^-i^
 
 L I B RAFLY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 U N I VLR5 ITY 
 
 Of 1 LLl NOIS
 
 SOME NOTES 
 
 ON 
 
 PUBLIC WORSHIP 
 
 ADDRESSED 
 
 TO THE 
 
 PARISHIONERS OF ALL HALLOWS 
 TOTTENHAM 
 
 BY THE VTCAR 
 
 THIRD EDITION 
 
 Mr BENJAFIELD 
 BOOKSELLER. HIGH ROAD, TOTTENHAM
 
 l.ONnON : PBISTED B^ 
 
 SPOTTlrin OObE AND CO., NKVV-STllKKT SQCTARB 
 
 AND PARLIAMKXr BTBEKT
 
 We do all things, dearly Beloved, for tour edifying. '--2 Cor. xii. 19. 
 
 That thoxi mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the 
 House of Grou, which is the Church of the Living God, the pillar 
 AND GROTIND OF THE Truth.'— 1 Tim. iii. 15. 
 
 To the l7thabitaitts of TOTTENHAM 
 attending their Parish Church. 
 
 All Hallows Church having been made suitable foi' the 
 requirements of Divine Service, I am anxious, as your Pastor, 
 that our public worship should be worthy of the Church, and 
 still more, that in such degree as is possible, it may be a meet 
 offering to Almighty God. Our service, as far as the external 
 form of it is concerned, is capable of much improvement ; and 
 as these are days in which questions of form and ritual are 
 much canvassed, and often misunderstood, I wish to offer you 
 some counsel on the subject, and also to explain to you what 
 I wish the service at All Hallows to be. 
 
 The question how we may best puhlicli/ worship Almighty 
 God is one which all thoughtful Christians will be glad to 
 have answered. When we come to examine it, we find that 
 if we are to have unity, common consent, expressiveness, and 
 reverence, it is impossible that every one should be at liberty 
 to do whatever seems to be right in his own eyes. Individual 
 liberty should always give way to general edification. 
 
 When people kneel down before God in jyriv ate devotion, 
 they may adopt such words, formularies, and usages as shall 
 best express their individual aspirations and praises. Their 
 prayers are a personal matter between themselves and God, 
 and to God only are they responsible for what they then do 
 and say. Bat when people meet together as members of the 
 Church, the case is different. Then, the prayer is Common
 
 prayer — tbe confession, that is, of our Common sin — the 
 entreaty of Common supplication — the expression of Common 
 emotion — the uplifting of solemn interce__ssion, prayer, and 
 praise, corresponding to our Common wants, Common hopes, 
 Common perils. Common trials, and Common mercies. 
 
 In order to express these, there must be a Common Form, 
 and that common form should be based upon some common 
 and intelligible principle. 
 
 Now this common and intelligible principle is to be 
 deduced — 
 
 (i) From the rubrics of the Book of Common Prayer. 
 
 (ii) Where the Prayer Book is silent, from proved ancient 
 usage, when consistent with our Prayer Book as it now is. 
 
 (iii) Where neither the Prayer Book nor ancient usage is 
 express, then by general principles of propriety, good feeling, 
 and common sense. 
 
 Not many years ago, a spirit of carelessness had crept 
 over the whole Church. The sacred structures were allowed 
 to fall into decay. Repairs were done, when done at all, with 
 an eye to cheapness rather than to seemliness and suitability. 
 Ease, pride, comfort, and personal dignity were consulted in 
 the arrangement of pews, and the primal notion of a church 
 as the common floor on which all God's people meet to offer 
 their common worship was ignoi'ed and lost. 
 
 But better times came. Men were raised up, who, by their 
 energy, zeal, piety, and learning, stirred up a more devout 
 feeling. There was a revival of primitive doctrine, which 
 gradually lead to a better appreciation of primitive worship ; 
 and thus earnestness, regularity, and devoutness have spread 
 through all ranks and orders of church-going people. 
 
 The great leaders of this religions revival confined their 
 attention mainly to recalling the conscience of the Church to 
 the ancient doctrine of the Word and Sacraments, rightly 
 believing that, if once ^ihese were adequately felt, improved 
 worship would follow as a natural consequence. 
 
 This expectation has been gradually realised. Nothing in 
 the last thirty years has been more marvellous than the 

 
 multiplication and restoration of chnrches, and the greatly- 
 improved manner in which the rites and ceremonies prescribed 
 in the Book of Common Prayer have been observed. There 
 has been a marked revival in Ritual as VP'ell as in Church 
 extension ; but it cannot be said that real wisdom has, in 
 all cases, characterised the revival. Some have, indeed, 
 carried the restoration of ancient ritual beyond anything for 
 which people were prepared, beyond what the Church of 
 England has prescribed, beyond what is in harmony with the 
 Prayer Book, and beyond what is prudent, considering the 
 trying circumstances amidst which the Church has to win 
 back the many thousands who, in past years, often by her 
 own fault, have been alienated from her. 
 
 'Now, I am most anxious that the congregation of All 
 Hallows, Tottenham, shall avoid all error in the matter 
 of Ritual, and be examples of intelligent earnestness, 
 reverence, sobriety, and devotion, while at the same time 
 they shall not give occasion of reasonable offence to their 
 neighbours. 
 
 It is no doubt desirable that there should be a cei'tain 
 uniformity in the worship of all our churches ; but it is 
 absolutely imperative that, as much as may be, the worship- 
 pers at each church should conform to a common rule for 
 common edification. I therefore earnestly appeal to my 
 parishioners to unite with me in making our worship at 
 All Hallows as uniform, as devout, as unostentatious, and as 
 real as possible, and to have regard to the three principles 
 which I have already named, rather than to what they 
 themselves may personally prefer, or what they may have 
 seen in other places. 
 
 To help those who are desirous to aid me in what I have 
 so much at heart, I submit a few rules, by the observance 
 of which the harmony and outward unity of public worship, 
 for which I plead, may be attained : — 
 
 (I) It is a pious custom, both on entering and on leaving On 
 church, to make a slight inclination of the head, as recognising ^.°^^^''"S 
 the Divine Presence in the lioly sanctuary.
 
 Private 
 Prayer on 
 entering 
 Church. 
 
 Reception 
 of Clergy 
 and Choir. 
 
 Private 
 Prayers 
 in connec- 
 tion with 
 ( 'lergy and 
 Choir. 
 
 Some persons do not observe this rule at all ; others wait 
 until they have reached their seats, and then do it too osten- 
 tatiously. It is better to do it quietly and unobtrusively 
 when crossing the holy threshold, and in the spirit of the first 
 eighteen verses of the 6th Chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel. 
 
 (II) There should be no conversation or noise in church, 
 and no greetings at coming in or going out. Such greetings 
 should be reserved till people are out of the building and out 
 of the churchyard. Within these sacred places they are to be 
 understood, but not expressed. One all- predominating thought 
 should rule there : viz. the thought of God's presence. Wor- 
 shippers, having reached their seats in church, should kneel 
 and pray for the blessing of God upon themselves, upon the 
 ministry, and all people. They should then await, in silence, 
 the entrance of the clergy and the choir, and the commence- 
 ment of the service. 
 
 (III) It is a seemly and suitable observance to stand up, 
 and receive the clergy and choir as they proceed to their 
 places, not as exalting them personally, but as recognising 
 their oflB.ce as leaders of the worship about to be oflfered. 
 
 (IV) A custom has, of late years, been coming into use 
 at this point in some churches, the origin of which it is impos- 
 sible to trace, and which is without justification, and meaning- 
 less. I allude to the congregation, or a few members of it, 
 kneeling down again while the clergy and choir, having taken 
 their places, are saying such silent prayers as the individual 
 members of the congregation have already said for themselves 
 on their entrance into church. Congregational prayer does 
 not begin until the clergy and choir have risen from their 
 knees. All is individual up to that time. 
 
 As might have been expected, this very incorrect practice, 
 of kneeling at such an erratic time, is bearing unwholesome 
 fruit. Many persons have begun to omit their private act 
 of homage and prayer on entering church, and reserve 
 themselves for this second and incorrect congregational 
 demonsti'ation. They feel, rightly, that two such distinct acts 
 of prayer before the public service begins are incongruous
 
 and excessive, and therefoi'e they omit the personal act, 
 which is the old traditional and correct one, and adopt the 
 congregational, which has no vestige either of authority or 
 propriety. I ask yon to abstain from this custom in All 
 Hallows, and in whatever church you may worship. Do 
 not confound private devotion with public prayer. 
 
 (V) It may be necessary to remind some that only Audible 
 those parts of the service are to be said by the congregation ®^P°°^^ 
 which are distinctly ordered to be so said by the rubrics. 
 
 There are still some who require this caution, partly from 
 a thoughtless habit, partly from mere want of appi'ehension 
 of the distinct meanings of the different parts of the service. 
 The General Confession, e.g., is to be said hy the wJiole con- 
 gregation ; but the Absolution hy the priest alone. The 
 Amens, and also all the responses, should be said or sung 
 with the heart and voice, according to the custom of the 
 church. 
 
 (VI) It is an old and good custom to make a slight Gloria 
 inclination of the head when the Gloria Pafcri is sung or said ; 
 
 but care should be taken to do this unobtrusively. 
 
 (VII) The 18th canon of 1603 enjoins that ' when in the Bowing, 
 time of Divine service the Lord Jesus shall be mentioned, due 
 
 and lowly reverence shall be done by all persons present, as it 
 hath been accustomed, testifying by these outward ceremonies 
 and gestures their inward humility, Christian resolution, and 
 due acknowledgment that the Lord Jesus Christ, the true and 
 eternal Son of God, is the only Saviour of the world.' This 
 pious rule is not so strictly followed as it ought to be, many 
 persons erroneously thinking that it is only to be observed in 
 saying the Creeds. 
 
 The practice of bowing the head towards the Altar Table ia 
 without meaning in our Church. In Roman Catholic churches, 
 when the Sacrament is reserved, the custom of genuflecting 
 before it is, on Roman principles, intelligible. But the Church 
 of England does not reserve or expose the Sacrament, for 
 reasons which she has given, and therefore this practice has 
 no justification, and ought to be avoided.
 
 8 
 
 Kneeling. 
 
 Praise. 
 
 Tile 
 
 Tlie Lord's 
 Prayer 
 iind 
 Gospel. 
 
 (VIII) Let me most earnestly press upon you the duty 
 of kneeling at all parts of the service where it is proper to 
 do so, unless prevented by bodily weakness or infirmity. It 
 is most painful to see how satisfied some are to sit during 
 prayers. Would such persons choose that their servants and 
 children should behave in that way at family prayers ? Do 
 they adopt that posture in tbeir own private devotions ? If 
 not, then why in church ? 
 
 (IX) Praise should be rendered standing ; and when the 
 Canticles, Psalms, and Hymns are sung, all should join with 
 audible voice, however imperfect their musical skill or powers 
 may be. 
 
 (X) When Holy Scripture is being read we should let 
 the heart and the understanding be fully engaged in listening 
 to its contents, so that we may draw from it those lessons of 
 heavenly wisdom which can alone guide us safely through 
 time to eternity. In order that our whole thoughts may be 
 concentrated upon the reading of the Lessons, it would be 
 well if they were followed with a Bible in the hand, thereby 
 preventing the eyes from wandering, and keeping the mind 
 entirely engaged. Few who try this method will ever disuse it. 
 
 (XI) When the Lord's Prayer occurs in the course of a 
 Lesson, the congregation should rise and stand until its con- 
 clusion. This, no doubt, is the remains of a custom which 
 once existed of standing at the reading of all Scripture, which 
 has now been diminished to the custom of standing only at 
 the reading of the Gospel for the day, and of the Lord's 
 Prayer when it occurs in a Lesson. 
 
 When people rise to hear the Gospel, they should do so 
 simultaneously, immediately after the announcement of the 
 close of the Epistle, and before the chapter and verse of the 
 Gospel are announced. Quietness and reverence require this. 
 
 The wholesome custom of singing ' Glory be to Thee, 
 O Lord,' before the reading of the Gospel, and 'Thanks be to 
 Thee, Lord,' after it, stands upon very ancient and con- 
 tinuous usage, and therefore commends itself to every devout 
 heart.
 
 East. 
 
 9 
 
 (XII) At the recital of the Creed it is customary to turn Turning 
 to the East. This custom is much misunderstood, and some t?„„^® 
 persons who may be seated sideways refuse to follow it, while 
 there are those who make a virtue of looking in an opposite 
 direction. Let me explain the reason of turning to the East. 
 The great central act of worship is the Holy Communion, and 
 to give prominence to that, the Altar Table at which it is 
 celebrated is placed at the east end of the church, as the most 
 conspicuous place. Accordingly, in the arrangement of pews 
 care is always taken, in well-ordered churches, that the con- 
 gregation should, as far as possible, face that way. In that 
 case, there is not, of course, any turning to the East, because 
 all the people are already looking in that direction. The only 
 persons not looking eastward are the clergy and choir, who 
 are facing north and south for purposes of general con- 
 venience, especially that of being well heard. When the 
 Creeds are said, they, and any others who may be in a similar 
 position, turn to the East, to put themselves right, as it were, 
 with the congregation. 
 
 There is no superstition in this custom. It is one of 
 ancient and sacred association, which we have inherited, and 
 which most of us would be sorry to abandon. 
 
 There is no Rubric commanding us to turn to the East, 
 because, in the days when the Rubrics were drawn up, it was 
 never supposed that any Christian would wish not to do what 
 was customary and reverent. 
 
 (XIII) Referring again to the Creeds, I would observe The 
 that it is proper to stand, and to recite them with the minister, 
 and to remember that the words ' I believe ' ai"e understood to 
 be prefixed to each separate clause. I have noticed a practice 
 in some persons of genuflecting at the words ' was made 
 Man,' and also of making the sign of the Cross at certain 
 clauses, at the end. For these observances there is no 
 authority whatever, and I strongly discourage them. 
 
 While I am unwilling to resti-ict the liberty of any persons 
 in the observance of what they may find edifying, I am at the 
 same time quite convinced it is not desirable that individual 
 
 Creeds.
 
 10 
 
 worshippers sliould add outward observances of their own 
 devising to the authorised formularies of the Church. In 
 addition to creating disorder, such observances are often a 
 stumbling-block to others. 
 
 Offertory. (XIV) When the Offertory is being collected, the whole 
 
 congregation should invariably stand until the priest presents 
 the united alms and oblations of the worshippers. 
 
 From a habit which people have of thinking too much 
 about themselves in public worship, they have come to mis- 
 understand very much the Offertory part of the Communion 
 Service. Tbey stand until they have dropped their own indi- 
 vidaalalms into the bag, and then they kneel down, as if the 
 - Offertory, as far as they are concerned, was at an end. But, 
 being members of a congregation, and not mere individuals, 
 this is not the case. All should stand until the collection is 
 made, and the alms with the oblations have been presented at 
 the altar by the priest. That act is the real Offertory. The 
 former part is only the collection. In the final act the con- 
 gregation should take part by entirely sinking their indi- 
 viduality, and remembering only their duty and privilege as 
 members of a congregation, and so of the One great Christian 
 Body. 
 
 Holy Cum- (XV) In administering the Holy Communion the priest 
 
 is ordered to give it ' to the people into their hands.' The 
 Communicant should therefore receive the Bread in the palm 
 of the open right hand, and should take the Chalice by the 
 stem, and not require the clergyman to guide it to the mouth. 
 For want of due precaution in these matters, painful accidents 
 sometimes occur. 
 
 The posture in which the Holy Communion should be 
 received is distinctly ordered to be that of kneeling. There is 
 no authority whatever for crouching or prostration. Everything 
 of an individual, or obtrusive, or exaggerated character is at 
 such at a time to be carefully and specially avoided. 
 
 IligliCele- (XVI) The terms 'High Celebration, and Low Celc- 
 
 iiMiiiju bration,' and ' High Mass, and Low Mass,' are not to be found 
 ami . ' fo ' ' 
 
 m our Player Book, inid therefore ought not to be used.
 
 11 
 
 They are the shibboleths of party, are liable to be misunder- Low Cele- 
 stood, and to give unnecessaiy offence. ration. 
 
 (XVII) I would here caution such as need it against Early and 
 
 making artificial distinctions between early and late cele- LateCele- 
 
 , orations, 
 brations of Holy Communion. Both are equally sacred, and 
 
 both require the same observances, whether with music or 
 
 without it. At both, eg, it is right and proper to stand at 
 
 the Gloria in Excelsis. Whenever the necessary arrangements 
 
 can be made, I would recommend an attendance at the early 
 
 rather than at the later celebration. It is well to begin the 
 
 day with some amount of self-sacrifice, and a solemn dedication 
 
 of ourselves to God and to good works. 
 
 Communicants who are waiting in the Chancel for an 
 
 opportunity to approach the Altar Tables should alwa3^s stand 
 
 until there is room for them, and should not then kneel. Bat 
 
 of course they should kneel if it be necessary to repeat the 
 
 prayer of Consecration. 
 
 (XVIII) Some well-meaning persons say protracted Protracted 
 
 private devotions at the end of Divine service, when the clergy private 
 ^ , • 1 Devotions. 
 
 and choir have retired. Without wishing to abridge reason- 
 able liberty in this matter, I would remind all such that this 
 practice is both weak and inexpedient ; that the public function 
 is finished when those who have officiated have left their places ; 
 and that the members of the congregation should then leave, 
 unless there be any unusual reason to the contrary. None 
 will fail to carry away the Divine blessing if they have truly 
 and earnestly done their part in the public service. God has 
 freely given that which they need, if they do not mistrust 
 Him, and if they do not act as if something remained to be 
 done by themselves individually and privately in order to 
 obtain it. The Christian character is always dwarfed and 
 weakened by so much self-introspection, and the real character 
 of public worship is misrepresented. 
 
 I desire to press the preceding .recommendations upon all 
 those who wish well to me, and to God's service, in All 
 Hallows Chui'ch. Let every person, young and old, rich and
 
 12 
 
 poor, avoid siugulavity in regard to external signs and 
 observances. The Cafcholic faith and worship are grand, 
 noble, and manly in their simplicity and in their adaptation 
 to human nature. They are calculated to promote strength, 
 not foster weakness; they rest upon deep principles, not upon 
 mere personal taste ; tbey address both, the head and tbe 
 heart, and appeal to the reason at well as the conscience. We 
 therefore most subserve the Church's best and truest interests, 
 and at the same time most promote our own edification, when, 
 carefully abstaining from novelties and exaggerations, we yield 
 our own private notions and wishes to what the Church, 
 which for us has authority to decree rites and ceremonies, has 
 prescribed. Thus only can we hope to make our public 
 services in this place a blessing to ourselves, a pattern to 
 others, and acceptable and pleasing to our Father in heaven. 
 
 A. WILSON, Vicar. 
 All Halloavs Vicarage, 
 Tottenham. 
 
 SERVICES IN ALL HALLOWS CHURCH. 
 
 On Sundays. 
 First Celebration of Holy Communion... ... 8.0 o'clock. 
 
 Morning Prayer, with Second Celebration of 
 
 Holy Communion and Sermon 
 Litany, with Catechising 
 Evening Prayer and Sermon ... 
 
 On Saints' Days. 
 First Celebration of Holy Communion... 
 Morning Prayer, and Second Celebration 
 
 Holy Communion ... 
 Evening Prayer and Sermon 
 
 On WeeJc Days. 
 Morning Prayer ... 
 Evening Prayer, with Sermon on Fridays 
 
 of 
 
 Baptisms and Churchings at every Service, on notice 
 being given. 
 
 ILO 
 
 3.30 
 7.0 
 
 8.0 
 
 10.30 
 
 8.0 
 
 10.30 
 8.0
 
 RESTORATION OF ALL HALLOWS CHURCH IN 1876-7. 
 
 The Additions to All Hallows Clnirch, Tottenham, consist 
 of one new bay at the East end of the Wave and Aisles (or 
 rather of the old Chancel and its Aisles), with a new Chancel, 
 new North and South Transepts, an Organ Chamber, double 
 Vestries, a Furnace Room for heating the Church beneath one 
 of them, and a North Porch. The old Chancel, with the ad- 
 dition of the new bay mentioned above, now becomes pait of 
 the Nave, and is furnished with seats for the Congregation. 
 A Clerestory, with windows on each side of it, and an entirely 
 new roof have been put upon the entire length of the Nave, 
 the windows being absolutely necessary for light, as is proved 
 by the unsightly skylights \\hich in former days had been put 
 into various parts of the old lower roof. The Church now 
 presents, both on the outside and inside, a very dignified 
 appearance, its height bearing an agreeable proportion to its 
 much increased length. The new work has been carried out 
 in red brick and stone, in harmony with the fine red brick and 
 stone South Porch of the 15th century, which is almost the 
 only feature of the old Church which had not been injuriously 
 modernised. The Choir part of the Chancel is fitted up with 
 oak and walnut- wood seats and desks, and is paved with tiles. 
 The eastern part, or Sanctuary, is arcaded in stone on its 
 sides and east end, with a central Reredos behind the Altar 
 Table. Marble shafts and marble in various forms are used in 
 this part of the Chancel. The Nave and Aisles are filled with 
 open fixed seats. A large East "Window of five lights fills 
 the gable end of the Chancel at a high level. The ceiling 
 above is vaulted in wood and plaster, and is delicately painted 
 m colours, with stars and flowers. The five-light Chancel 
 Window, the three-light South Transept Window, and a three- 
 light window in the new bay of the South Aisle are filled with 
 stained glass, presented by vai'ious persons as memorials. 
 The East Window glass represents our Lord enthroned with 
 the four living creatures mentioned in the 4th chapter of the 
 Book of Revelation, and often spoken of as emblems of the 
 Four Evangelists. Beneath His feet there are various Saints, 
 in harmony with the dedication of Tottenham Church, which 
 is All Hallows, or All Saints. They are St. Peter, St. Paul,
 
 14 
 
 St. Catherine, St. Mary Magdalene, St, James, St. Lawrence, 
 St. Stephen, and St. Augustine. Above, in the tracery, there 
 is the Agmis Dei. He is spoken of by St. John the Baptist, 
 as ' the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the 
 world,' and in the Book of the Revelation of St. John the 
 Divine, as ' A Lamb as it had been slain,' and in the Com- 
 munion Service, as * Lamb of God, Son of the Father, that 
 takest away the sins of the world ; ' and of whom it is said 
 that ' the great multitude, which no man could number, have 
 washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the 
 Lamb.' This emblem, as might be expected, is the most 
 ancient of any in Christian art, and was used in the earliest 
 times. In the three-light South Transept Window there is 
 again a figure of our Lord surrounded by Saints and His 
 attendants. In the East Window, already described, oar 
 Lord is represented in majesty as Son of Man ascended and 
 enthroned. In the South Transept window he is represented 
 as a child m hnmiUty, as described by the Prophet Isaiah : 
 ' Unto us a child is born,' and again, ' Behold, a Virgin 
 shall conceive, and bear a Son, and shall call his name Im- 
 manuel.' The surrounding figures are those of the Four 
 Evangelists — St. Matthew, St. Mark, St. Luke, St. John — 
 and of St, John the Baptist, our Lord's Forerunner. St. John 
 points to the Lamb which he carries, so as to suggest his 
 own words, ' Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away 
 the sin of the world.' The three-light window in the new 
 bay of the South Aisle represents in the middle light the 
 Presentation of Christ in the Temple as described in the 2nd 
 chapter of St. Luke, from the 22nd verse onward. The High 
 Priest holds the Holy Child in his arms. St. Mary and St. 
 Joseph, bearing the offering of two turtledoves, are depicted in 
 the left-hand outer light, and Simeon and Anna in the other 
 one. The window is a memorial of a former much-respected 
 Curate of the Parish. The gable windows in the North 
 Transept, and the one above the organ, are filled with figures 
 of angels. In the Vestry Window our Lord is represented 
 upon the Cross, with the inscription beneath, ' Who suflTei'ed 
 for onr Salvation.' Angels are represented on either side 
 in its oTiter lights. The glass formerly in the East Window of 
 the old Cliancol has been put together in a better form, with
 
 15 
 
 some additions, and is now in the West Window of tlie North 
 Aisle. Stained glass has also been placed in the windows 
 in the old part of the South Aisle. In the easternmost 
 of these is represented the Annunciation, with figures of St. 
 Mary the Virgin and St. Gabriel the Archangel, one in each 
 light. The window is given by public subscription, as a 
 thank-offering for the restoration and enlargement of the 
 Church. The other windows contain figures of Elijah and 
 Elisha, Samuel and Nathan, saints of the old dispensation. 
 The four easternmost side windows of the North Aisle have 
 been filled with figures of the four greater prophets, Isaiah, 
 Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel, and of St. Agnes and St. 
 Margaret, Miriam and Deborah. In the small east end 
 gable windows of the two Aisles are the three principal 
 letters, as written in Greek, of our Lord's two names 
 (Jesus Christ). This contraction has been generally used, 
 and from very early times. The contracted word Jesus 
 is in the North Aisle gable window, and the Avord Christ, 
 similarly contracted, is in the South Aisle gable window. 
 The West Window in the Tower is filled with stained glass 
 figures of Noah and Abraham. Noah carries the Ark as the 
 type of Christ's Church referred to in the Service of Holy 
 Baptism ; Abraham carries the Censer and Knife, as being, 
 in the matter of the offering up of his son Isaac, the type of 
 God the Father giving His well-beloved Son as a sacrifice for 
 the sins of the world. 
 
 The Font and Pulpit are both individual gifts. The Font 
 is chiefly of Derbyshire fossil marble, with dove marble and 
 red Abei'deen granite shafts. The Pulpit is of Derbyshire 
 fossil marble with alabaster tracer^-, and metal work on a base 
 of red Mansfield and Bath stone. The Metal Lectern is also 
 the gift of a parishioner. 
 
 The old South Porch entrance was in a much worse state 
 than it even appeared to be. Its covering of ivy was abso- 
 lutely necessary to make its appearance tolerable. It has now 
 been restored in both its brick and stone portions, with new 
 .stone in place of mere cement to the greater part of it. New 
 doors and other fittings have been put, the ground around 
 the entire Clmrch has been lowered, and buildings of a very 
 offensive kind adjoining it have been removed. A new west
 
 16 
 
 doorway and window of stone have been placed in the Towei', 
 as well as a new window at the west end of the South Aisle, 
 where the brick erection for the gallery staircase stood. New 
 floors have been laid throughout. 
 
 The surface of the Churchyard has been much lowered 
 over a considerable part of its area, to the great gain of the 
 Church walls, which were previously buried to an extent that 
 people will scarcely now believe. Fortunately space could 
 be found for all the surplus earth in the south-west corner of 
 the Churchyard without unduly raising its level. The various 
 tombs have been reset in a sabstantial manner at this lower 
 level in good order. New well-drained and formed paths, 
 much wider and in better positions than the former ones, and 
 more suitable for the approach to the House of God, have 
 been made. Our fine yew trees, formerly buried among 
 tombs, take a dignified and important position in the wide 
 walk, and stand well above it. A group of yew trees has 
 been planted to the south-west, and a new roadside wall, with 
 entrance gates, has also been built. 
 
 Every efi'orfc has been used to maintain the character of 
 our Churchyard as being the resting-place of the departed, 
 consecrated by the Church many centuries ago for that end. 
 It has unfortunately been too much of late years the fashion 
 to give to Churchyards which have been closed for burials the 
 appearance of secular recreation grounds, and to put out of 
 sight, as far as possible, their real character. We have taken 
 another course. We do not wish to banish the idea of death 
 and the resurrection from the precincts of our Church. We 
 believe that those who sleep in Christ in our Churchyard are 
 still with us in our daily lives and worship. The Church 
 will lose much indeed if she goes on turning God's Acre into 
 a condition which obliterates more or less the memory of 
 those who sleep within it till the morning of the resurrection. 
 This is not a time for putting out of sight or mind any 
 Christian principles, great or small — and this is not a small 
 one. Churchyards are not places to be entrusted to the 
 caprices of a landscape gardener, so long as we retain any 
 sense of their real character. 
 
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