St. Denys, Chilworth
A delightful little church which was unfortunately locked. A shame as it looks worth seeing in. There is a website at chilworthchurch.org but this has no visitor information but does have some pictures of the interior. It also has a map of how to find it and a cycle trail – both of which are not very useful if you can’t get in!
Romsey Abbey
Romsey Abbey is a church I have visited before but not for some time. It gets a lot of visitors, and deservedly so. A lot of effort has gone into welcoming people here. There are robed stewards who know about the church and welcome people with a friendly smile. I was handed a good leaflet with a trail around the Abbey. There is a good gift and book stall with a good selection of things for sale. This is a stunning church, dedicated to Saints Mary and Ethelflaeda, and there is lots of things to see here.
There is a children’s area and some children’s trails which are well thought out.
It is hard to do justice to a place like this in a few words but I was taken with a nice memorial – the St. Barbe monument.
Also, the little chapels around the building provide lovely places for a bit of quiet and contemplation – some are labelled as such. Here is a picture of St. Mary’s Chapel which is stunningly simple yet very moving.
In the St. George’s Chapel hangs a sculpture, ‘Christus Rex’ by Peter Eugene Ball. This dates from 2013.
There is a good votive stand as well as a prayer stand – modern and beautiful pieces.
The church website is at http://www.romseyabbey.org.uk and features a 360 degree virtual tour as well as a page on visiting. This serves as a good model for other churches. All in all I rate the Abbey as excellent for visitors but don’t just take my word for it, go and have a look!
St. Michael’s, Sothampton
St.Michael’s is just off one end of the High Street. It was open with an A frane board outside.
This is a most interesting church to visit. There are various guides and explanatory leaflets here as well as some tourist information. A Bible was open and there were some very friendly stewards. Some secondhand books were for sale and a display about the parish’s Burma link. There is a votive stand to use and a children’s area.
The church has a lovely Josefina De Vasconcellos statute of St. Michael – I have come across several of these in churches in Cumbria.
The church website is at http://www.southamptonchurches.com but it has no visitor information on it.
This church is well worth a visit.
St. Mary’s, Southampton
St. Mary’s is a little way out of the city centre and provides an oasis of calm. It is open and has a light and airy interior. The signs outside only mention the services held here. Inside, I found some multi lingual leaflets, post cards, various Christian leaflets and ‘A walk around St. Mary’s’ which is a simple leaflet but explains things well enough. There is a lot of interest here, a Seaman’s Chapel in particular is very good.
One feature here that I rather liked is that several services sheets from recent events were left out. These reveal a lively church with some interesting things going on – eg a Taize service and ‘Our Lady of Grace of Southampton. A Marian Service and Pilgrimage.’ Old service sheets (as long as they are not dog eared!) do provide interest for visitors – we can be too tidy! There were also some prayer leaflets.
There is a children’s area and an open bible next to the entrance to the church. There is a votive stand too. The church website is at http://www.southamptonchurches.com but has no visitor information on it.
St. Stephen’s, Chaulden
St. Stephen’s is a simple pre fabricated building. It is easy to look down on on a humble church like this but it has served it’s local community since the 1950’s. It is never going to make any list of notable churches nor will people flock to see it but it has it’s own charm. I found it open as a couple were doing some painting. They spoke warmly of their little church and had an obvious pride in it. It is well looked after and gets used for various groups during the week. It is essentially a hall but some doors can be opened to reveal a sanctuary area which is lovingly cared for and spotlessly clean. A real surprise find and a delightful little place. There doesn’t seem to be a website but there is a little on ‘a church near you.’
St. John’s Boxmoor, Hemel Hempstead
I was delighted to find St. John’s open. It sits on a large green in a prominent position. There are some glass doors here so people can see in. It is a beautifully kept church and is worth a visit. I found notelets, mugs, prayer cards, ties and dried flower petal confetti on sale as well as a guide booklet and one on the windows here. A man appeared and told me that the the church was normally locked but that there had been a funeral. They don’t open it as there had been a fire started in a shed some years ago which had badly damaged the church. Whilst we were talking a young couple came in and lit a candle at the votive stand here (there is a prayer board as well) and stood there quietly for a time before leaving. This is one reason why churches ought to be open. I have no idea why they felt they should come in but it was obviously a meaningful act for them and we should be brave enough to give our sacred space to others. Fear of the past and what might happen are stopping this church from being a real sacred heart to the community around. There is a rather dated website at http://www.stjohnsboxmoor.co.uk/ which says,
Our Aims
We aim to:
* Reach out in love and service to the people of our parish
* Support and accompany those in need, pain or grief
* Welcome, teach and nurture newcomers of all ages
* Care for one another and build each other up in faith
* Worship God with beauty, dignity and warmth
“You shall love the Lord your God ….
and love your neighbour as yourself.”
Being open would help to do these!! This would be a good church by my ratings if it was open. A rather wasted opportunity but I was glad that I got to go inside.
St. Alban’s, Hemel Hempstead
St. Alban’s is on a busy road opposite to a shopping centre. It was locked but does have a ‘Jesus welcomes all’ sign on the wall – there is a sad irony in a church having such a sign when it is locked. There is a little bit on ‘a church near you’ but no church website. They really could do a lot better here I think.
St.Mary’s, Hemel Hempstead
St. Mary’s is situated in the old part of Hemel. Unfortunately it was locked up and there was no indication as to how it was possible to get in outside of service times. This is all rather bizarre as this is the only notable building in Hemel and brown tourist signs point to it from the main roads around!
There is supposed to be a website at http://stmaryshemel.org.uk/ but this doesn’t work (and hasn’t done so for a couple of weeks) so may be defunct. All of this is not very encouraging nor welcoming.
Update
Much has changed here! The website is now at http://stmaryandstpaulhemel.org.uk/ The Church is now open each day from 10am until 5pm. Please do go and have a look.
St. Paul’s, Hemel Hempstead
There are quite a few modern churches in Hemel Hempstead which reflects the history of Hemel as a new town. These vary in design but are mostly functional multi purpose buildings. St. Paul’s is one such. It was closed when I visited but it is open on Saturday mornings for everyone. There doesn’t appear to be a church website but there is an entry on ‘a church near you’ but this doesn’t say anything about the Saturday morning ‘OpenDoors’.
Holy Trinity, Leverstock Green
Holy Trinity is a lovely little church in a well kept churchyard. It was locked but a sign in the porch does give key holder information and says that the church is open on Mondays 2pm – 4pm and Saturdays 10-12. This is much better than just leaving it locked at all times outside services and does make it clear that people are welcome to call in.
Part of the same benefice as Kings Langley. The website is at http://beneficeoflangelei.org.uk/holy-trinity-leverstock-green/ but this hasn’t got visitor information on it.
There was a nice sign on the church door-
churchtourismstudy 