Tipton Church altar

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.

Tipton church windows

In the new year Rev Mark Ward posted on his facebook page a photograph of one of the windows in Tipton Church. It was the window that shows 'Jesus The light of the World', a beautiful scene originally painted by William Holman Hunt, (pre raphelite painter) in 1854. The painting was inspired by Jesus' words in the book of Revelation. This inspired me to call into the church whilst out walking to have a closer look at the stained glass windows.  I noticed that each window is a memorial, with various names displayed on each one. 'The Light of the World' is dedicated to G J King a gentleman and shareholder who owned property in London and lived in Beach House, Sidmouth. This beautifully crafted window was made in 1889 by Ward and Hughes of Soho, London. There is a signature confirming this in one of the small coloured panes. Its amazing that this precious window would have been transported all the way from London, most probably on the train.
The next pair of windows 'Suffer little children come unto me' and 'Feed my sheep' is a memorial to a Tipton vicar, Rev Augustus Archer Hunt who came to St Johns in the early life of the church, 1849 , until his death in 1889. It is dedicated to him by his parishioners and friends, he was reported to have been a very popular vicar, perhaps this scene was chosen particularly to show how he loved and cared for his congregation. These windows look as if they could also be by Ward and Hughes, the work and colouring is very similar, although I  can find no signature
The altar window, 'The Crucifixion of Christ on the Cross' was installed in 1903,  in memory of Rev Hunt, his wife Sarah Emily and his father Major Richard Burgess Hunt (as mentioned in previous Tipton Times 'Sundial' article)

The two sets of  windows on the other side of the church are older .The first set show 'The Resurrected Christ and St John the Evangalist' on his right hand side, these windows are made by Wailes of Newcastle. They are a memorial to   Helen Rose, who died in 1865, from her husband John Benson Rose.    Helen was the sister of Sarah Emily Hunt and although born in Devon she  lived with her barrister husband in London.
The final set of stained windows St Peter and St James the Great, are a memorial to George Frederick Powell. George was a bachelor, who lived in Budleigh, with property in London. He is registered as a 'fundholder', with shares in the railways, including some in India. In his will he left a substantial amount to Tipton church, the school and an allowance for the poor of the village.

It seems that all the windows are dedicated to great friends of the Rev Augustus Hunt, benefactors to 'his' church. His influence on our church has created much of the beauty we see today. These benefactors that all seemed to have been very influential in their day, have left a lasting legacy of beauty for future generations to enjoy, lighting up the church with rainbows of colour.
Next time you are in the church take a moment to enjoy the love and memory of those people left to us over 120 years ago

Acknowledgements to Rev Mark Ward, Ancestry, The British Newspaper Archives

Angela Court

 How did 'Angela Court' get its name?



Angela Court started life as the vicarage for Tipton St John church, ( which was built in 1840's) and the vicarage came soon after. The vicarage was obviously well maintained, with a housekeeper and gardener. Many church meetings and fetes were held in the grounds over the years. In 1887 a fundraiser was reported in the Western Times;



'If it is true that a country house lawn never looks so well as when used for some beneficial purpose, then the vicarage grounds at Tipton St John were in good trim'



In the early 1900 the then vicar Rev G.Every, decided to move to Glebe Cottage, as he felt that the vicarage building was too big for him. The vicarage was put on the market by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners and was purchased by Mr and Mrs Anderson Morshead who moved into the vicarage and renamed it 'Metcombe End'.



Captain RY Anderson Morshead and his wife Angela married in Salcombe Regis, at the beginning of The Great War and when he was posted to India and Mesopotamia with The Devonshire Regiment, his wife accompanied him. After the war they returned to Devon and in 1922 moved to Tipton. They immersed themselves immediately into village life. Mr Anderson Morshead became President of the Football club and The Horticultural Society, was an Honorary member of the Billiards club and Gun Club and he was also Chairman of the local British Legion. Mrs Anderson Morshead was heavily involved with the Tipton St John  WI and at this time;

'one of the most progressive branches of the WI is to be found at Tipton St John '. ( The Western Times)



Together they both did a tremendous amount for the church at Tipton, both of them heading the committee that oversaw the placing of the marble World War 1 memorial plaque in the church, dedicated to the men from the village who gave their lives in the Great War.  Mr Anderson Morshead also paid for the installation of electricity into the church, in the 1930's. His wife Angela, supplied many of the church flowers, that she grew in her garden,  especially at Easter and Christmas, and she took a keen interest in raising money towards the Ottery St Mary Cottage Hospital funds.

There are many newspaper articles relating to them holding fetes and garden shows within the grounds of their house, benifitting local causes, which often went onto include music and dancing until late into the evenings!

Sadly it is also often noted in newspaper articles of this time that Mrs Anderson Morshead was ill,there were times when she was unable to attend events due to her feeling unwell.

In 1931 Angela Anderson Morshead sadly died from her long suffered illness, Bowel cancer, leaving her husband bereft. In her obituary she is described ;

 'her lovable personality and sympathetic being endeared her to all with whom she came in contact, she did many charitable acts in an unostentatious manner'.



In her Will , Angela requested that those attending her funeral should not wear mourning and should only bring flowers gathered by themselves or donate their money to Ottery Hospital. Her funeral was well attended and mourners included Lord and Lady Coleridge, Lord Cave and representatives from many local groups. Angela's grave was lined with narcissi and ivy. She is buried in the churchyard at Tipton, next to the Vestry door near the path that leads to the Angela Court.

As they had no children it was her wish that on her and her husbands death that their house be used for the benefit of ill children. Soon after her death this report was published in  the Western Times, of a meeting of the Devon Association for Cripples'Aid, chaired by Dame Georgina Buller;



...'a most valuable bequest in the shape of a house with acres of ground at Tipton St John, by the late Mrs Anderson Morshead.  Captain Anderson Morshead was so anxious to see the home of his late wife occupied by cripples, that he has made arrangements for the hospital to have the property straight away instead of at his death. It is to be known as the "Angela Convalescent Nursing Home" Angela being the christian name of the late Mrs Anderson Morshead, as part of the Princess Elizabeth Hospital.



Soon after her death, her husband decided to leave the village and he was presented with an armchair, as a leaving gift from his friends to take to his new cottage. Rev Every was reported to say that the gift was;



 ' proof of the parishioners affection, 175 subscribers asked him to accept the handsome armchair. Capt Anderson Morshead,  greeted with applause, referred to the very happy times he had spent in their midst and paid a glowing tribute to the late Mrs Anderson Morshead, to whose initiative and warm support, he said, he owed any popularity which he might have attained'



In 1932 Captain RY Anderson Morshead paid to have the electric lighting fitted into the church in memory of Angela with a marble tablet inscribed;.

                           'lux perpetua in eam luceat'         'let light perpetual shine upon it'.



It seems Angela left a permanent light upon not just the church but also the village



So then the "Angela Convalescent Home" was opened, in memory of Angela, but that's another story for another Tipton Times...!