Turbulent times of St Michael’s (From Basingstoke Gazette)

Turbulent times of St Michael’s

12:37pm Tuesday 17th August 2010 in

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THE story of one of Basingstoke’s oldest and most venerated buildings unfolds in an excellent exhibition at The Willis Museum.

Consisting of artefacts, religious books, pictures and photos, the wellpresented free exhibition, which runs until September 4, is part of a celebration marking 500 years since St Michael’s nave and tower were rebuilt.

Of course, the building is much older, as there has been a church on the site, in Church Square, in the centre of town, for almost 1,000 years.

The exhibition shows the many people who have been involved with the church, and in many ways the story reflects some of the sometimes turbulent times and changes that our country has seen.

It covers the time from the Reformation, when Henry VIII separated the English church from the Catholic Church of Rome, to the Civil War, when parliamentary Roundheads fought against King Charles I, turning the country briefly into a republic under puritan Oliver Cromwell, and then carries on to more modern times when the church was badly damaged by Second World War bombing.

Although the earliest years of St Michael’s are unclear, it seems the origin of the church has connections to the Saxon church of St Mary’s, in Basing.

At that time, Basingstoke was an outpost of Basing, but this eventually changed when it grew and rivalled the size of the settlement we now call Old Basing.

Following the Norman invasion, William the Conqueror gave St Mary’s Church to the abbey of Mont St Michel.

It seems likely that the important abbey, just off the Normandy coast, either set up or expanded a church in Basingstoke, dedicating it to its patron saint, St Michael.

By 1233, both St Michael’s and St Mary’s, along with a church in Selborne, were given by the Bishop of Winchester to the newly-formed priory at Selborne and remained part of its endowment until 1486.

When the priory was dissolved, its possessions were transferred to Magdalen College, in Oxford, which is still patron of St Michael’s.

The oldest parts of today’s building are the chancel, which dates from 1464, and St Stephen’s Chapel, while the Memorial Chapel, in the north-east corner of the building, is the most recent, being completed in 1921, to commemorate the town’s First World War dead.

It was during the 15th century that plans went ahead to enlarge the church. The town had grown increasingly prosperous, thanks partly to the cloth trade and because of its growth as a market centre.

Consequently, this wealth led to the desire to enhance the parish church.

Many people left money for the rebuilding of the church in their wills, such as John Belchamber, who left £20, which in 1513 was a substantial amount of money.

It is not clear how long the actual rebuilding work took, but it was not long before the start of the Reformation instigated by Henry VIII, which may explain why plans to rebuild St Stephen’s Chapel were abandoned. One thing is for sure – the Reformation was a time of great uncertainty for many churchgoers as they saw many familiar things connected to the Catholic Church swept away.

Among them was the destruction of a painted post – possibly an image of St Michael. Sir Thomas Cromwell, the Lord Privy Seal, ordered that it be brought to London, “for ceasing of idolatry in Basingstoke”.

All wall paintings and images were destroyed and, of course, the form of church services changed.

More changes came under Edward VI’s reign and there was a return to Catholicism under Phillip and Mary, before things settled down under the Protestant Elizabeth I.

However, throughout these turbulent times, the priest Richard Gosmer remained in his post, from 1499 to 1541, which may have made it easier for people to accept the changes that took place.

Another time of great worry for the inhabitants of Basingstoke was the Second World War.

The Hants and Berks Gazette, the forerunner of today’s Gazette, in a guarded report, necessary due to the news restrictions of the time, reported in its August 23, 1940, edition, a bombing raid which hit Basingstoke the previous day.

Six people were killed and there was severe damage to Church Square, including St Michael’s and the Methodist Church opposite.

Only one stained glass window at St Michael’s survived the blast and the east end of the church was badly damaged.

Fortunately, weekly collections and investment in Government War Loans provided enough money after the war to fully restore the church