Tipton St John Church Altar.
The chancel of Tipton St John Church is maybe not somewhere you have looked closely but a friend from America asked me to take a photograph of the reredos behind the altar. He was interested in two small discreet carved figures on either side of the altar table. On the left is King Henry, founder of Eton college and on the right St Charles the martyr. I had never noticed these figures before. On looking closer I found that the reredos and altar was given by Dr Henry Ley (precentor of Eton College) and his wife, Evelyn, in memory of her father Rev Heurtley and grandfather, MA Fellow of Corpus Christi College and the Ley family. The family has a very high church background and great lovers and writers of music.
Dr Henry and Evelyn Ley lived at Coombewater Cottage and were active members of the church and supporters of the school at Tipton, often taking part in the end of year prizegiving of books and bibles. Mrs Ley wrote a hymn "The church on the hill" for the centenary of Tipton church in 1940. When she died in 1946 the schoolchildren lined her graveside wth spring flowers. Dr Henry Ley, Professor of organ at Royal College of Music, London and Precentor at Eton, would play the organ at Tipton St John Church. He played recitals often in cathedrals all over the country and played at no less than 3 Coronations. Our organ must have seemed very small in comparison! The organ was originally upstairs at the back of the church, later it was moved to its present position to the right of the altar. The photograph shows just how dramatic the balcony looked back then with the organ under the Rose window.
When the church was first built in 1840 there was a "rich and chaste altar screen, divided into four compartments by triple columns with carved arches." (see photo) The walls were painted with twining plants and writings from the bible, even the ceiling was decorated. I would love to have seen the church with these amazing decorative paintings. The very beautiful antique altar table is in wood, being reduced from a screen in, none other than Cologne Cathedral, given by the Rev. George Coleridge of Ottery St Mary church.
The Leys had the new altar designed in 1938 by Herbert Read of Exeter. The figures represent (from left to right) St John (Tipton St John) St Peter (Exeter Cathedral) St Mary (Ottery St Mary) Christ is the central figure, robed as King of the earth then St Therese (Dr Ley's sister) St Benedict (Dr Ley's brother's name as a monk - Dom Benedict) and St Micheal (Chagford church - Dr Ley's father was the vicar here).
Thank you Dr and Mrs Ley for a beautiful family and religious memorial in our church.
Had I not been asked to take that photograph I may never have noticed the beauty and history behind our altar!
"In piam memoriam" Charles Able Heurtley, Priest and Mary Elizabeth his wife. "Requiescant in face"
Thanks to Marilyn Berry and Chris Baxter for the old church photograph, Rev. Mark Ward and Clinton Crawshaw for the inspiration.
The Newspaper Archives. Exeter and Plymouth Gazette.
