1. St. Cross Site

2. St. Cross

Rev. Masters

1. An aerial view of the site showing St Cross in the top of the picture with Tring Road running Bottom Left to Top Right and Chappel End Lane below Mr. Glasser's Chicken Units (Where the 'Chapel Fields' estate now stands). This photograph was taken before the building of the mill and before the bungalows in Chappel End Lane were built.

2. St. Cross in about 1890. The bell turret has not yet been built, there is no porch (not even the old corrugated iron hut). The iron gates to the path are there and the Horse Chestnut Tree at the West end of the church is much smaller than today!

Unlike previous vicars of Long Marston, The Reverend Masters M.A. was also a curate of Tring and Wilstone became his responsibility, which was indeed fortunate for Wilstone. In fact both villages owe much to him who, it is recorded, filled the little chapel at Long Marston twice on Sundays, morning and evening with 'standing room only'! (The congregation numbered between 100 and 120!) He also conducted a crowded service in Wilstone school room every Sunday afternoon. Much was achieved during his ministry.

The vicarage at Long Marston was erected in 1873 and Long Marston School built and opened in 1875. These were followed by St. Cross, Wilstone, in 1877 and the rebuilt All Saints, Long Marston in 1883.

Wilstone's project was started during 1876 and the commemoration stone was placed in the west wall on November 24th 1877. 'Kelly's Directory' for 1902 gives the date of the first service in St. Cross as 18th December 1877. The first list of subscribers however is dated January 1878 - on which it states

"Wilstone Church, now being built, consists of a substantial nave with a South porch to be used as a vestry. It will accommodate under 200 souls."

From this it seems probable that regular worship commenced during 1878.

It must be mentioned here that at the same time as the building of St. Cross was in progress, great changes were also happening in the county. The new Diocese of St. Albans was formed and its first bishop, Thomas Leigh Claughton, was enthroned on the 12th June 1877. Wilstone St. Cross is therefore as old as the diocese. The Reverend Masters had great ideas for Wilstone Church and his plans, of which only a pencilled outline is left, include a large chancel, vestry and entrance porch. The estimated cost of this amounted to £3,189 - far in excess of money that could be raised locally, and in fact most of the gifts came from outside the village.

Smith and Fincher of Tring were the builders and the revised cost, excluding the chancel and porch was £1470.15.6, the west and east walls being temporarily constructed of brick. The site was the gift of Joseph Grout Williams of Pendley who also gave the iron railing and a generous gift of £597. Other gifts to the church in 1878 included the Lords Table which was presented to the Church by the Reverend W.C. Masters and Mrs. Bowen of Tunbridge Wells and was made locally in the wheelwright's shop at Pear Tree Cottage, owned at that time by Mr. Joseph Hare, the craftsman being Mr. Walter Timson who lived in one of the cottages at Wilstone Green.

The church altar. This photograph was taken during Lent (when there is no frontal) to show the original carving.

The communion plate was given by The Rev. Greachey of Romford, the pulpit and reading desk by Mrs. Williams of Pendley, the Lectern by Mr. E.G. Crauford of Tring, the Font by Miss Astford Trenchard and the stove by The Rev. H.A. Harvey of Oxford. Service books were a gift from the S.P.C.K. and the hymnbooks by the Hymns Ancient & Modern Committee. Kneelers for the clergy were provided by Mrs Elliman and those for the communicants by Mrs. J.J. Masters, Miss A. Trenchard, Miss Evans and Miss Brown.

There is mention of a bell being purchased for £5.12.6 but this is not shown on early photographs and is thought to have been placed in its present position between 1890 and 1900.

The question "Why 'St. Cross'.?" has been asked many times. According to Canon A.C. Deeds, Master of Winchester's Hospital of St. Cross, the answer lies in the fact that ‘St’ is an abbreviation of the latin word ‘Sanctus’, sacred or holy. The full title is therefore "The Church of the Holy Cross."

With the moving on of the Reverend Masters in 1885 (he retired from the ministry in 1919 and died at Bristol in 1924), very little is known of Wilstone Church activities. The Rev. H.M. Rowdon who then became vicar of Long Marston had not, in the early years of his ministry, become involved in our village affairs. Again it became the responsibility of Tring to provide the visiting clergy and lay readers for St. Cross. During 1897 however, the question arose of a cemetery for the village and the Parish Council applied to the local government board for a loan of £300 for this purpose. The establishment of a burial ground is dealt with in greater detail in a later chapter. Suffice it here to say that 1898 saw the completion of the burial ground on Wilstone Hill and the second Bishop of St. Albans, John Wogan Festing visited Wilstone during the year to consecrate the church section of the cemetery. This was first time a bishop had visited this village.

The later years of the 19th century, as explained by Owen Chadwick in his "Victorian Diocese of St. Albans" were not good ones for the Church and in particular not for the rural clergy. The middle eighties were the time of agricultural depression which resulted in a fall in the value of Tithes. In the thirteen years from 1882 the clergy of Essex and Hertfordshire were poorer by £51,615 per year and many a vicarage knew real want. The drop in stipends resulted in a shortage of clergy and the necessity to combine parishes became acute towards the latter part of the century. Our area remained untouched until 1909 when changes were being discussed and the diary of the late Miss Chapman of Folly Farm, Puttenham states:-

"When The reverend White Atkins resigned the living at Puttenham, it became known that plans were being discussed for joining the parishes of Puttenham, Long Marston and Wilstone (part of Tring). This was not popular among the parishioners of Puttenham and a petition was sent to the Lord Chancellor with no effect. The Archbishop of Canterbury was also approached, but the plans were carried through and the Reverend Hugh Marmaduke Rowdon was appointed. Puttenham rectory was sold, as was the glebe land which until this time had provided a living."

Rev. H.M. Rowden

St. Cross, however, continued under the parish of Tring until the church was consecrated by the Bishop of St. Albans in 1913 and from then on the Rev. Rowdon was appointed and Wilstone became his responsibility. St. Cross was eventually licensed for marriage ceremonies in 1914.

The Rev. Rowdon was not expected to manage all three parishes, and various curates' and lay readers' names appear on the records over the years. The Reverend T.R. Leighton became curate of Long Marston in 1914 and was given charge of Wilstone in 1917. The following lay readers (theological students) assisted in the parish from 1920:

All these lay readers went on to become priests. During 1950, C.W. Norwood, by then Canon Norwood returned to England for a holiday and while here spent a Sunday in the villages and preached in all three churches.

Sunday School had been started during the early years and an organ was installed in 1910. The late Mrs. Bussey, a former Sunday school teacher, became the organist in the same year - a position she held for over 60 years! To commemorate 50 years of worship in 1928, a large fete was held in the meadow next to the church, the intention being to raise enough money to improve the eastern and western exteriors for, as the newspaper report stated: "In the opinion of most, these particular aspects of an otherwise pleasing edifice are capable of considerable improvement." The event was opened by Mr J.G. Williams of Pendley, who expressed the hope that the church would soon be finished! The Rev. Rowdon remarked that: "The church wanted the finishing strokes and made to look like the churches in neighbouring Buckinghamshire!" Although reports suggest that the event was a great success, no records are available as to how much was raised or as to how the money was spent.

For 44 years the Reverend Rowdon was vicar of Long Marston. His son, Marmaduke Smart Rowdon was appointed curate of St. Stephen's Cheltenham in January 1918. He died on October 21st of that year, aged 33, a victim of the influenza epidemic which was sweeping Europe. The Bishop's Chair within the Altar rail is one of three which were presented by the family, one to each church in the parish, in memory of their son.

The Reverend Rowdon's last service was held at Long Marston on November 4th 1928. The new incumbent, The Reverend Percy Livingstone Dickson was instituted by Bishop Gerard Heath Lander, assistant Bishop of St. Albans, on April 5th 1929, and was, according to the writings of the late Mrs. Vincent, "A man of wide scientific interests. He never stayed too long in one parish." After two years he moved on to South Africa.

The Reverend Eric John Anthony ('Father Anthony'), former curate of St. Peter's Berkhamsted, was instituted by Bishop Michael Furze on April 24th 1931. The Reverend Anthony had very high church ideas which included the use of incense and this upset many of the village regulars. With the decreasing congregations, coupled with an exceptionally hot summer in 1932, Sunday services were discontinued. The Reverend Anthony blamed this on the lack of funds and the increasing popularity of the reservoirs, a favourite spot for swimmers during the summer months. "A 'Woodbine Willie' parson", he said, "could have survived," but he could no longer carry on. Many complaints were forwarded from time to time to the church authorities concerning the worsening state of affairs and an article appeared in the 'Bucks Herald' which reported that there were brambles growing round the windows and that the door was barricaded with stakes to keep away the cows. (The Rev. Anthony's means of keeping down the grass in the churchyard!) His answer to this article was that very little came from collections in Wilstone and he had no funds to carry out repairs or to pay for keeping the area round the church in order. When Wilstone became a joint parish with Long Marston and Puttenham, £60 was allowed the vicar to provide a curate for St. Cross and this figure had never been increased. What could one do with £60 per annum?

Nevertheless occasional services were held here until the war years and the church remained open for Holy Communion on the first Sunday of each month up until his retirement in 1962.

Rev. Eric Anthony

The Reverend Eric Anthony in 1924, whilst a curate at Berkhamsted, surrounded by the choir of St. Peter's there. The small boy on the extreme right is your historian - Dick Gomm.

The Church Interior

The Church interior in Father Anthony's day. The altar, pulpit, lectern and the choir stalls are still in use, as are some of the chairs. Note the old oil lamps. - There was no electricity in Wilstone until after WW2. The old organ (R) has gone, as has the harmonium (L) and the 'Stations of the Cross'. The backing to the altar is quite different now and the altar has been moved forward so that at Holy Communion, the president/celebrant may stand behind it in the modern usage. Compare this with the photographs in the conclusion to this history

Gifts to St. Cross during the Reverend Anthony's incumbency, included a set of pictures of the Stations of the Cross and a statue of the Virgin. The Reverend Anthony took his last service at Long Marston in November 1962. He retired to Berkhamsted but later returned to Astrope where he died in 1970.

On April 21st 1962, The Reverend Hugh Francis Warwick M.A. Rector of Aldbury, accepted the living and regular services re-commenced on 21st April following his induction on April 18th 1963.

Rev. Hugh Warwick

The Reverend Hugh Warwick (centre) flanked by the Bishop of Hertford (L) and the Archdeacon of St. Albans (R)

During the Reverend Anthony's years a few shillings weekly were paid to various caretakers for regular cleaning but apart from this nothing more was attempted. The Reverend Warwick therefore inherited a church in need of urgent attention. Cobwebs hung from the lofty roof, an organ and heating stove were well beyond repair and a few broken pictures were left on the walls. Very few of the chairs were safe to use and it was obvious that much would have to be done to make the building fit for worship.

A church committee was formed and the Reverend Warwick, his family, the committee and other willing helpers spent many hours carrying out the necessary improvements.

The church was decorated, a new heating stove was purchased and the seating arrangements were improved. It was due to the vicar's efforts that the present organ, a gift from the Church of the Holy Cross, Sarratt, was installed in the new organ loft which had been erected over the west door and was the gift of an anonymous donor. The Bishop of St. Albans, accompanied by the Bishop of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, conducted the dedication service on 26th July 1964.

The Reverend Warwick also took a very keen interest in village affairs and in 1965, negotiations were in progress regarding the sale of the parish room. The vicar and church wardens of Long Marston were trustees of the hall, a gift of the Williams family in 1878, which stood opposite the church entrance and had been standing unused for some years. The deeds stated that if it were not used for its original purpose, it should be sold and the money put to some other project for the benefit of the village.

The Reverend Warwick did much to arrange the disposal of the parish room, which was eventually sold for £6000. The money came as a welcome boost to the efforts then taking place to build a new hall in Wilstone.

By his hard work, the Reverend Warwick had prepared the way for a much happier future for St. Cross and for the village and his sudden death during December 1970 at the early age of 47 was a great shock.

The induction of the Reverend Thomas Anthony Knox B.A. took place in All Saints Church, Long Marston on April 28th 1971. He and his family moved into 'The Close', a more modern house in 'Watery' Astrope Lane. Plans had been submitted for a new vicarage at Long Marston, but permission was refused. The rambling Victorian House, built by the Reverend Masters, was sold for demolition and 17 homes now occupy the old vicarage site.

Many important events for Wilstone occured during the eight year stay of Rev. Knox. On Sunday 18th May 1971 a service was held in St. Cross to mark the closing of Wilstone School after it had served the village for 120 years. So many people came that 50 chairs had to be brought from the village hall. The sermon was preached by the Archdeacon of St. Albans and refreshments were provided in the village hall.

In April 1972 the church roof was causing some concern and needed a general overhaul. This necessitated the replacing of many broken tiles. In the end, the whole roof proved to be in such poor condition that all had to be re-hung. Work commenced in April and was completed during May at a cost of £1200.

In 1972, A Rogation day procession around the boundary of the parish on hay carts was introduced, blessing the farms and fields and all who worked there. The custom was continued for many years.

In 1974 the vicarage was enlarged and on this occasion the Bishop of St. Albans, Dr. Robert Runcie, later to become Archbishop of Canterbury, paid a visit to bless the house and to meet members of the congregation during the evening.

The dilapidated state of the church's corrugated iron porch, which for many years had served as a cover over the west door, was again discussed and during 1975, The Reverend Norfolk (Rural Dean of Berkhamsted) visited the church to hear the committees's ideas for future improvements. He was not too impressed with the plans for an extension, which would contain not only a porch but a committee room. He thought it much easier and far less expensive to place a glass partition under the organ loft to serve both purposes.

The estimated cost of the proposed extension was about £2000, so, after much discussion, the Rural Dean's suggestion was followed. At the same time, new steps were built and a cover placed over the West door. This was dedicated to the memory of Francis Hugh Warwick at a service on Harvest Sunday 1976 led by the Archdeacon of St. Albans.

1977 marked the centenary of the church of St. Cross and plans were put in hand to mark this special occasion. A history of the church and village would be the theme for an exhibition to be staged in the church and this resulted in the church being filled with 'bygones' and the walls covered with old photographs. So successful was this exhibition that it remained open from Friday until the Monday evening. The sermon at the special service on the Sunday evening was preached by the Rural Dean and the lesson was read by Mr. Dorian Williams of Pendley whose grandfather was such a generous benefactor in 1877.

In 1979 The Rev. Knox moved on to become rector of Toddington in Bedfordshire and this resulted in a Team Parish being formed by the rector of Tring, Canon Howells. This team parish consisted of Tring, Aldbury, Long Maston, Puttenham and Wilstone which then became a parish in its own right.

The Reverend Trevor Johns was inducted by the Bishop of Hertford and the ceremony took place in Long Marston Church on December 12th 1979. The Reverend Johns thus became the first team vicar of Wilstone. Although he carried out the daily routines of the three churches of Long Marston, Puttenham and Wilstone it soon became obvious that more and more of his time was taken up by the team work in Tring and unlike his predecessors had very little time left for district and hospital visiting. His stay with us lasted for six years and he preached his farewell sermon on December 20th 1985 before moving to Knighton in Radnorshire.

The Reverend Paul Wilson was inducted on 30th January 1986 and remained with us until September 1990, when he left to take up the living of Renhold with which he combined the chaplaincy of Bedford Gaol.

The Reverend Martin Nathanael was inducted by Bishop John Taylor, the then Bishop of St. Albans, in All Saints Long Marston on April 30th 1991 and stayed with us for nine years until September 2000.

On July 18th 2002, The Reverend Philippa Segrave-Pride was inducted by Bishop Christopher Herbert, the then and current Bishop of St. Albans, in All Saints Long Marston. Unfortunately, for personal reasons Philippa left us in 2004 to move to Hatfield and shortly afterwards the diocese decided that they could only justify two stipendiary clergy for the Tring Team parish so she was not replaced. Happily however we welomed a newly ordained non-stipendiary minister, Reverend Martin Macdonald, to the parish as assistant curate and even more happily he remains with us, having special responsibility for St. Cross.

In September 1992 We held the first of our very successful and popular Flower Festivals, which take place in alternate years. With money raised from these and other events the church windows were, in that year, replaced with new stained glass and in the millenium year 2000, we were able to extend the church to provide toilets, running water and a somewhat larger meeting space. Following enthusiastic fundraising by the congregation and with the aid of generous grants from the Rural Churches in Community Service, from Dacorum Borough Council and from other churches and individuals in the parish, work was started in the summer of that year. The architects were Atelier MLM of Aldbury and the builders W.G. Hillier & Co. of Markyate. The extension was dedicated by Ven. Richard I Cheetham. Archdeacon of St. Albans, on the 6th of December in time for the beginning of the new millenium.

Since then, the old oil burning stove has been superceded by a new gas-fired boiler and radiator system and the rotten wood under-pew staging replaced and the tiled aisle relaid to give a flat access throughout whilst retaining the general look and feel of the old.

Every Tuesday morning from 10.30, free coffee is now served to allcomers and this has become a very populat venue.

Wrought iron flower stands at the altar in memory or Mrs. Marie Cartwright.

Altar rails, a gift from Myrtle and Alan Sawford-Dye who for some years were proprietors of 'The Little Shop' at 25 Tring Road. They both died in 1977, within six weeks of each other.

The Credence Table in memory of Mr. Bert Bussey who died in 1971

The triple glass lamp pendants in memory of Mrs. Constance Bussey who died in 1976 and who had been organist for over 60 years.

A stone flower trough in memory of Mrs Bone who also died in 1976.

On the whole, various commentators and historians who have noticed our village have tended to take a somewhat jaundiced view, from Salmons in 1728 who wrote of the destruction of the chapel and how the materials were given to the villagers to repair their houses and the Victorian county historian in 1908 who expressed the opinion that in his view Wilstone "had seen better days" through to The Reverend Rowdon who, in one of his speeches, referred to "Poor little Wilstone". Even Canon Norwood, in a pamphlet recalling his stay with us as a lay preacher was not too impressed.

Wilstone has seen many changes since the erection of St. Cross in 1877, some for the better and some for the worse. Sadly most of the old family names, names of those who worked so hard to lay the foundations of a better village, have now passed on.

Perhaps those who were so dismissive of the village would be pleased with the progress achieved, not only in St. Cross but in the many improvements throughout the village in the last thirty years. The area round the church is now much pleasanter, gone are Father Anthony's cows, the grass is trimmed and flower beds tended by volunteer labour. Here mention must be made of Mr. Harry Collins who did so much to change the rough field of the 30's into the garden we see today.

St. Cross has stood the test of time and although 'Our pleasing edifice' has not yet been finished to the Reverend Masters' plans and dreams, we hope it will continue to serve our ever changing village community for many years, even centuries to come.

The church interior today (Easter 2002)