A rather sombre piece from John Betjeman: A Passion for Churches
And should we let the poor old churches die?
Do the stones speak? My word, of course they do!
Here in the midst of life they cry aloud:
‘You’ve used us to build houses for your prayer:
You’ve left us here to die beside the road’
In the May Squeaker I explained that the process for closing the church had reached its conclusion and we would close for worship on 1 October. This has come to pass, the church is closed and the building now belongs to the Diocese of Portsmouth.
We have removed a lot of our possessions and taken them for safe keeping to East Meon and what is left is now the property of the diocese. Joy Sang did a remarkable job of advertising and then distributing the embroidered kneelers to many of the families with a connection to the person who embroidered them and there are very few left behind.
There was a meeting with representatives from the Church Commissioners a few weeks ago to discuss what might become of the building now it is no longer needed for worship. They (the commissioners and the diocese) will embark on a ‘use-seeking’ process which will last a minimum of two years. First, they will see if there is any prospect of the building being taken on as a community centre/village hall or for some other community use such as a library. We know that the Parish Council has already looked into this and decided it would not be affordable or viable commercially so it is an unlikely outcome. The lack of parking or of vehicular access to the building make any option for future use problematic whether that be conversion to a residential dwelling or office or for any commercial use. Some disused churches are taken on by charities such as the Redundant Churches Trust or the Churches Conservation Trust but, sadly, our church, although a fine example of a Victorian Gothic design, is not of sufficient architectural or historical merit to be of interest to either of these charities.
So, what does this mean for the church building? I regret that no-one can say with certainty but my guess, for what it’s worth, is that the use-seeking period will drag on for at least 5 years, very likely longer, with the authorities reluctant to face up to the two most likely options: the building is left to slowly decay or it is demolished. It seems to me the least sad option would be to demolish it.
Clearly what happens to the building and the continuing maintenance of the churchyard, which will remain open and in use, is of interest to the community of Langrish and Ramsdean and it is appropriate that the Parish Council has appointed a councillor to monitor the situation.
To this ex-serviceman, the biggest sorrow is that the elegant stone war memorial erected in the church in 1920 to commemorate those villagers that died in service to their country in the First World War – part funded I must add by those living in the parish at that time – and the wooden plaque with the names of those killed in World War 2 will sit, out of sight, in this decaying building for goodness knows how long. We were refused permission to remove and store them with a view to erecting them in All Saints, East Meon in due course so these monuments to the heroes of yesteryear are lost to the community whose forebears paid for them. I doubt I will be around when the future of the church building is decided and I only hope that someone younger than me will take up the cudgels and ensure the memorials are not lost for ever.
I do not wish to end on a negative note so I would remind everyone that we still have a parish – the Parish of East Meon and Langrish and we still have a church – All Saints Church East Meon. The congregation of East Meon are determined to welcome Langrish and Ramsdean people to what is now ‘Our Church’ so go along and see for yourself. Quite apart from anything else it is a very old and fascinating building and deserving of our support.
David Mowlam
Given our Parish church is now East Meon it has been proposed that we set up a Whatsapp group for car shares for the 4th Sunday of the month which is a Eucharist. More details will be advised as times are confirmed.
When you join the group you can either offer a lift or request a lift which may make it easier for some to attend.
Please send an email to langrishramsdeanfriends@gmail.com with your mobile number and we will add you to the group which will be called ‘Sunday Best’, stating whether you are willing to offer a lift or would prefer to request a lift.
The Community wishes to acknowledge the diligence of Joy Sang in maintaining the church services and rotas during this difficult and sad time and also the persistence and professionalism of David Mowlam for keeping the process on track, along with the Langrish PCC.
David Mowlam and Jon Allen will be the Langrish representatives on the new East Meon and Langrish PCC.
