In the January Squeaker, I explained that the legal process for granting permission to close Langrish Church had, after 3 years, finally finished. I also explained that a date for closure could not be set until the faculty (Ecclesiastical equivalent of listed building consent) for removing the war memorials had been approved and the work to remove them completed, I predicted July for closure but, yet again, my prediction was overly optimistic!
As, I’m afraid, was my belief that the diocese would agree to our plan to remove the war memorials to storage with a view to re-installing them in East Meon church at a later date and place the stone plaque commemorating Sgt Major Horlock in the churchyard alongside our other VC, Admiral Eric Robinson. I won’t go into the process of approving a faculty but suffice to say that the appropriate diocesan body that advises the Chancellor (the diocesan legal beagle who sits in judgement) said that they would not advise approval until there was an equivalent faculty submission for reinstallation of the war memorials in East Meon Church. It transpired that, in law, nothing can be erected in a churchyard except gravestones, so our plan for the Horlock plaque was flawed from the outset. The PCC has therefore withdrawn the faculty request and the memorials are condemned to remain in a closed church building with no public access until the future of the building has been determined – at least 2 years but quite possibly a lot longer.
However, at least this decision has cleared the way to set a certain timetable for closure. The PCC want to have a final celebratory service in the church (I hope everyone does!) and are keen that the Bishop of Portsmouth, the Right Reverend Dr. Jonathan Frost, come and officiate at this service. Fr Tony has duly negotiated with the bishop’s staff and he will come on Sunday 6 September. The church will be locked after this service and cease to be used for worship but will not officially close until 1 October when the re-amalgamation of Langrish and East Meon Parishes will occur.
As we approach this sad moment it is worth recording some history. In 1869, John and George Waddington (the Talbot-Ponsonbys’ ancestors) living in Langrish House set about creating a community in Langrish by building a church, a vicarage and a school. George, the more pious of the two, particularly wanted to save the people of Langrish from having to trek into East Meon of a Sunday to attend church and put much of his own money into the project so it was sad that he died in January 1870 a year before the building was completed and consecrated in January 1871. The school, now Flints, became too small and, in 1914, it was moved to a new building in Stroud – in those days Stroud was a part of Langrish Parish. Langrish remained a completely independent ecclesiastical parish with its own incumbent priest until the end of 1973 – just over 100 years – when it was decided that the vicar of East Meon would serve both parishes. As part of this realignment, Stroud was joined to Steep Parish and the Langrish vicarage was sold off in 1974. The Church of Saint John the Evangelist soon became the last community building left in the parish with the pub long gone and shop and post office closing in 1977.
In 1986, in her book Some Aspects of Langrish Life Evelyn Hickox wrote, ‘We know that despite our efforts, we may probably lose the church building within the next ten years.’ Well, it took another 40 years before the will to administer a church in a parish of under 300 souls and pay for both expenses and the building’s upkeep finally faltered and the PCC decided to embark on an orderly closure. The church built with vision and faith by the Waddington brothers to the Glory of God, used for worship and a feature of village life for 155 years will shortly be no more. We have motor cars now and can easily go back to what was, before 1871, our parish church, All Saints, East Meon. St John’s job is done but those in the worshipping congregation will mourn its passing and I hope the memory of its value to the community as a whole will live on with those who were baptised or married in it or have family members buried in the churchyard.
The churchyard will remain open and in the ownership of the combined Parish of East Meon and Langrish. As a Langrish community we will need to continue to maintain it with a mowing rota and an annual churchyard clear-up in autumn.
Please note the date of the final celebratory service in St John the Evangelist Church, Langrish will be on Sunday 6 September at 10.30am
David Mowlam
The Squeaker 