Churcher’s and the Church

On 13th February 1322, at around 4:30am, the central Norman tower of Ely Cathedral, the ‘Ship of the Fens’, collapsed with a thunderous noise. The famous lantern that replaced it, designed by the King’s carpenter William Hurley and one of the greatest engineering feats of the Middle Ages, brings light into the cathedral. 400 years later in the county of Hampshire, “a favoured child of nature, and of History”1 , Churcher’s College was founded under the will of Richard Churcher. It is hoped that this article, written to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the school, will do for the subject ‘Churcher’s and the Church’ what Ely’s lantern did for its altar.

This is not a comprehensive or particularly focused study of the Christian life of the school, as there is much that remains unknown and has been lost over the years. It may, however, serve to give some insight into the waxing and waning of the influence of Christianity during the 300 years of the school’s life, an influence that has been “significant in times of celebration, and in times of tragedy.”2 Thanks are given to all of the contributors to this article, whose personal reflections have given a welcome extra dimension to the details.

Richard Churcher had interests in the East India Company, and his will decreed that the school should educate “10 or 12 local boys from Petersfield, of any age from 9 to 14, in the arts of writing, arithmetic, mathematics and navigation, so they could be apprenticed to masters of ships sailing in the East Indies.”3 It is this that perhaps explains the rule in Churcher’s will, that the Headmaster of the school should be a layman, as he didn’t want the school to be dominated by classics and the chapel, “and at that time, mathematical teachers of eminence belonged almost wholly to the laity.”4 This suggestion about the rule was also asserted by Donald Brooks and Gillian Clarke in their ‘History of Churcher’s

College, 1722-2005’. A foundation that decreed that a layman should be Headmaster was unusual in this period, as many schools were founded at the beginning of the 18th Century to educate children in the principles of the Church of England.

Within 20 years of Churcher’s death, Mr. John Jolliffe had become a trustee of the school, and over the following two decades began exerting even greater control over it. Indeed, the business and political interests of John Jolliffe and his family cast a long shadow over the town, and the College. In order to render himself popular with the people of Petersfield, over whom he was struggling to obtain political ascendency, he supported their petition to the trustees of the College to apply to Parliament for an act to vary the conduct of the charity, to remove the need for the boys educated at the College from going to sea. “As Petersfield was not a sea-port, few of the inhabitants are inclined or consenting to have their children instructed in mathematics and navigation only.”5 For boys from Petersfield, the sea must have seemed a world away.

The financial position of the College deteriorated under John Jolliffe’s son, William Jolliffe; “under his control the affairs of the College were ill managed and very irregularly conducted.”5 Both father and son had the habit of keeping cash balances at the end of each year rather than putting the money back into the College. The demise of William Jolliffe is of interest. A memorial plaque in St Peter’s Church, where you can see many of the memorials to the Jolliffe family, does not give the cause of his death in 1802, though it does say “his death was occasioned by an Accident awful as unforeseen”6. Research by the current vicar, Rev. Will Hughes, suggests that Jolliffe went down into his cellar to get some wine, forgot to close the hatch when coming back up and later on, perhaps a little worse for wear, fell through it to his death.

During William Jolliffe’s tenure, when the first first-class cricket match was played on nearby Broadhalfpenny Down in1777, the Headmaster, Mr. Figg, was allowed to take in boarders and private pupils under the pretence that his salary was too small. “Among the other abuses sanctioned by the trustees, in Mr. William Jolliffe’s time, was one of a very flagrant nature, which deserves particular attention… On the death of Mr. Figg in 1784, Mr. Robert Steele, a Layman, was appointed Master. He did not, however, reside in the College; but, on the contrary, The Rev. James Cookson, a Clergyman of the Church of England, was immediately admitted into possession of the house.

Mr. Steele continued to reside in Petersfield, but not in the College, for a year. At the expiration of that period he left Petersfield altogether, and settled at Winchester, where he established a school… During this time, to conceal the violation of the statute of the College, the name of Mr. Robert Steele, the Layman, was continued on the books as the Master, and the salary entered as if paid for his use, though the Rev. Cookson was the Master de facto and resided in the College from 1784 to some time after 1797.”7 This abuse of the College statutes was sanctioned by two of the defendants in the Chancery Case, namely Mr. Thomas Samuel Jolliffe and Mr. Hylton Jolliffe.

The Chancery Case hearing in 1822 concerned the nature of the management of the charity. During the case, on the 18th November, the wisdom of Churcher’s rule about having a layman as Headmaster was called into question by the ViceChancellor who said, “one may very well doubt the discretion of that direction in the founder’s will, that there should be a lay master; because in all modern experience there is much greater probability that a far more proper master would be found in a clergyman.”7

In his time as Headmaster of the school Rev. Cookson found time to edit a Grand Imperial Family Bible, a copy of which is housed in the school archives.

Between 1797 and 1881 Churcher’s had three Headmasters, William Trimmings (1797-1815), and father and son George (1815-1849) and Alfred (1849-1877) Dusautoy. The Headships of George and Alfred Dusautoy are regarded as a period of stagnation in the College’s history. W.J. Chapman was a boarder in the 1860s and his recollections, published in the history of the College written by Donald Brooks and Gillian Clarke, state, “On Sundays we attended Church twice, morning and evening, and also on Ash Wednesdays. We were marched to church in double file with the Headmaster and the Usher, and the special College pew was in the north-eastern corner of the church.”8 He further recalls an incident in the schoolroom; “the stove… was occasionally used for boiling jam, marmalade, etc., and on one occasion the small saucepan happened to be overlooked when the eight o’clock prayers commenced. In a short time, the contents came to the boil. Needless to say, prayers ended abruptly and the boys hurried to bed, except the two monitors who, of course, were responsible and were left to clear up the mess.”8

In 1877, as the school prepared to relocate to Ramshill, the minutes of the Governors’ meeting on 8th August outlined the buildings required for the new school, but amongst the long list which includes a large hall, dining hall, library, classrooms, dormitories and laundry, no mention was made of a chapel.

After being reconstituted in 1881, when the school moved to its current site on Ramshill, the restriction on vicars being Headmaster was removed and the next three Headmasters were all ordained, although the College was non-denominational. It seems reasonable to conclude, consistent with the appointment of Rev. Cookson the previous century, that the most eligible candidates were indeed in holy orders. Under its first ordained Headmaster following the reconstitution, a Cambridge classicist Rev. Giles Andrew, the school flourished, although by modern standards the number of pupils was still low; under him the school was given a sporting and academic future. Of 66 people who applied for the position of Headmaster ten were shortlisted, seven of whom were ordained.

An extract from ‘The Builder’ in 1881 about the building of the new school declares the appropriately named Dr. Ewan Christian, architect to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, as the person who scrutinised the various designs for the new College buildings. Christian was most notable for the restorations of Southwell Minster and Carlisle Cathedral, and the design of the National Portrait Gallery. He also restored the interior of All Saints Church in East Meon, designed the Church of St John the Evangelist in Langrish and designed a Neo-Norman organ case for Romsey Abbey. At his suggestion the current school was built, to designs by G.R. Crickmay of Weymouth. The designs did not include a chapel although suggested additions to the College, dated 1922, can be seen on the top corridor in Old College. These drawings contain plans for a chapel in the area just to the left of the main entrance to the school, where New College is now situated, but none of these additions came to fruition.

George Bridle attended the reconstituted school from 1881-1887 and was ordained before going to Korea, and to Kobe in Japan, working for many years as a missionary. His nephew, John Bridle (1922-25), was very proud of his uncle and often recounted his adventures. George retired to a living in Uffington, Berkshire, and died in 1945.

In the minutes of the Governors’ meeting on Wednesday 20th February 1889, “it was resolved on the proposition of the Hon. J.J Carnegie that the Clerk be directed to write to the Rev. G.J. Pearson, Vicar of Funtington, to enquire if there was a monument to the memory of Richard Churcher and if so whether the same was kept up.”9

In 1894, a note to the Governors of the school from the Clerk, M.G. Burley, raised the question of “whether a boy who is illegitimate but who has lived with his mother for upwards of two years in the Ancient Borough of Petersfield should be allowed to compete for a scholarship and I am directed to ask your opinion on the matter.”9 The impending examination led Mr. Burley to request a quick reply. Regrettably, we do not know the decision.

The second ordained Headmaster was Rev. William Bond, a Cambridge mathematician who was in post from 1893 to 1919. It was whilst he was Headmaster that the Churcherian magazine started in 1913, which has proved an invaluable source of information for this article. Under his tenure sport continued to flourish, the Cadet Corps was enrolled on Trafalgar Day 1905, and the library and Old Churcherian Club were established. He also appointed A.H.G. Hoggarth who would go on to become Headmaster in 1927, as the school roll approached 200. Bond retired in 1919, his tenure extended by the war in which 45 Old Churcherians lost their lives.

The Governors’ meeting minutes from 1907 include a letter from a Mr. W.C. Burley concerning the nature of religious instruction at the school. It says, “I may explain that, in the past, no denominational religious instruction has been given except on Sundays, to Boarders; then the catechism of the Church of England has been taught. Since the commencement of the present school year, however, this has not even been done, to avoid any question arising under this Article. The Governors are most anxious to avoid the necessity of communicating with parents of existing Boarders, and I am instructed to ask that Article 5 may be waived with regard to such boys, and that permission be given of them to receive instruction on Sundays in the Church Catechism as has been the practice in the past.

The parents have been perfectly satisfied with the arrangement and any communication to them upon the matter would it is feared create a feeling of unrest and suspicion.

As to new Boarders, the Governors propose to add an additional question to the form of Application in the following words: ‘Do you desire the boy to receive religious instruction in the doctrines, catechism and formularies of the Church of England?’

No question can arise to payment for such instruction being made out of grants provided by the Board of Education or Local Authority, seeing that the denominational instruction is only given on the Sunday morning and no payment whatever is made for the same.”9

In the minutes of the Governors’ meeting on the 21st December 1910 under the title ‘Churcher’s Tomb’, “Mr. Grass reported that, as promised, he visited the Tomb of Richard Churcher in Funtington Churchyard, but he found it was not in the dilapidated condition stated in the letter of Andrew Matthews. In fact, it was in a very fair state of preservation.”9

9 Governors’ Meeting minutes

It was during Bond’s tenure as Headmaster that the son of a butcher, a boy called Harry Carpenter, entered the school on a scholarship. His obituary in the Independent newspaper states, “as a result of what he used to describe wryly as ‘schoolmasterly incompetence’ he was advised to enrol at Southampton University College at the age of 16, without being told that he would need to teach himself Greek as a condition of matriculation. Characteristically, he did what was required and eventually got a First in the external examinations of London University. His residence in Southampton qualified him to sit for a Southampton Exhibition to Queen’s College, Oxford, and he went up in 1921 to read Mods, Greats and Theology, in all of which he gained Firsts.”10 Harry Carpenter was ordained in 1927 and shortly after took up a theological tutorship at Keble College, becoming a Fellow at the college in 1930. In 1955 Carpenter was appointed Bishop of Oxford, where he was known as an efficient administrator, a man of great integrity, and a churchman of deep piety. His obituary continues, “he was anything but an establishment prelate, and could be observed after services in parishes happily conversing with parishioners of all sorts and ages, though it was fatal to invite him to address children en masse.”10 After retiring as Bishop, Carpenter initiated the ecumenical discussions which resulted in the building of the Church of Christ the Cornerstone in Milton Keynes.

The Rev. H. Tower, also a Cambridge graduate who gave his name to the Theology prize which is still presented at Speech Day, was the final ordained Headmaster of the College. He went to Ely Theological College and was ordained in 1905. Rev. Tower introduced the Prefect system and the House system, with Drake, Grenville, Nelson and Rodney as the four Houses. The walls of the Assembly Hall, or ‘A’ as it was known, were wood panelled, and rugby was introduced as the main sport; there were 140 boys in the school. Rev. Tower stayed for four years before taking up a post as Headmaster of Hurstpierpoint School in 1923. From 1949-1961 he was Director of Studies at the Church of England Board of Education and Study Centre. The Diocese of Portsmouth was created in 1927 and its first Bishop, Neville Lovett, opened a new building, the ‘quad classrooms’, in 1931. These form part of the library and were designed by an Old Churcherian, W.A. Carter.

The Churcherian at this time, of which the record is incomplete, tells us little about the religious life of the school. There is the occasional oblique reference, such as in 1922 when, “under the guidance of Canon Wilson and a lantern we were taken for a very interesting voyage through the heavens and gained some idea of the wonders of astronomy.”11 In 1928, in an article about journalism under the title ‘Pay and Prospects’ it says, “Journalism was formerly a grossly underpaid profession, and to some extent still suffers from the incursions of well-paid amateurs from other professions, notably the church.”11 The same article also says that journalists, as soon as they are successful finding a job, will be put on to the dullest kind of work including, “christenings at the local church”11

Nevertheless, in the 1930s there were still clergymen involved in the school, not least Rev. H Tower who had been appointed as Chairman of the Old Churcherian Club in 1925, a position he would hold until 1947. A number of others took up positions on the governing body such as Rev. Canon W.H. Thomas and Rev. E.C.A. Kent. At this time Sir Heath Harrison, a retired and well-respected governor, presented his house and grounds, adjoining the playing fields, to the school. This is now known as Heath Harrison House and is the Headmaster’s residence.

The May 1934 Churcherian describes Heath Harrison as, “kind hearted and generous to a degree, he held always before him the Christian ideal of Charity, and used his great wealth in the way which wealth is meant to be used, in helping his fellow men. He was a true benefactor: anything tending towards good had his sympathy and help. Of Sir Heath Harrison it may truly be said that he faithfully performed the whole duty of men. He left the world a better place than he found it.”11

In memory of her husband, Dame Edith Harrison gave money for the building of a new church in Cosham, near Portsmouth. St Philip’s, built in 1937, is the last church to be designed by the celebrated architect Sir Ninian Comper, and is described by Pevsner as “one of the outstanding pieces of church architecture of the inter-war period”12 , and an example of ‘unity by inclusion’.

The October 1933 Churcherian also mentions the creation of a school song. Mr. R.G. Harwood composed the music and wrote the words, albeit a full eleven years after Rev. Tower offered £5 for the best one, and a full decade after he had moved to pastures new. One wonders how the 200 students who made up the school at this time would have sounded singing this in the A Hall. The song was still being sung at the end of Speech Day in the 1970s, and it is not known when after that its use waned. The song includes the line ‘lustily we sing’, the first syllable of which, on these occasions, boomed out, much to the chagrin and visible displeasure of senior staff on the platform, and stifled smiles on the part of some of the younger staff. In the last 5-10 years the song was resurrected, albeit for only a short time, by Religion & Philosophy teacher John Lofthouse, who reintroduced it to the school during some memorable assemblies. Some Old Boy reunions also see the song being revived. The song’s chorus begins with the school motto ‘Credita Caelo’ which means ‘entrusted to heaven’.

The genesis of the wreath laying at the tomb of Richard Churcher has been unearthed by current Headmaster Simon Williams in a letter from A.H.G. Hoggarth, appended to the minutes of the Governors’ meeting on 23rd July 1937. It says, “One of the boys made the happy suggestion that each year on the anniversary of Richard Churcher’s death the College should place a wreath or some flowers on his tomb at Funtington. On July 5, therefore, on behalf of the College, I placed a laurel wreath on Richard Churcher’s tomb.”13 Laurel has a number of symbolic meanings stretching back to ancient Greece and Rome where it represented victory; in ancient Olympic Games winners were presented with a laurel wreath. Related symbolism can be found in Christianity where it represents the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the victory over death. The wreath laying is still the first official duty of the incoming Captains, although current Captains Eleanor Lofthouse and Lewis Jordan will be disappointed to learn that one aspect of this traditional visit has fallen away, the custom of “repairing to the Funtington Inn for cider and sandwiches”14 once the wreath has been laid.

The guest speaker at the 1937 Speech Day, when the school roll was 261, was the Bishop of Portsmouth, Frank Partridge. He had also held one confirmation service for the boys, but there does not seem to be a record of any kind of Christian Union at this time, though Mr. Dimond’s second science exhibition that summer was reported to be a success, and there were a number of other clubs and societies in existence. In his speech, the Chairman of the Governors Capt. P.W. Seward remarked, “we can take nothing material with us on our journey into another world, but all who, according to their means, have helped such schools as Churcher’s to provide for the needs of the young take something of more than material value with them”.14

In his speech to the assembled, the Bishop compared Richard Churcher to The Venerable Bede; just as Bede was the individual in Anglo-Saxon times whose personality made the University of the North, so was the College’s benefactor Richard Churcher the individual who made our great educational institution. We are left to contemplate what Churcher would have made of the comparison! The Churcherian report of the Bishop’s speech continued, “Last of all, in the educational process they never got success unless those who were being educated found God. He was not going to preach a sermon, but the aim and end of the educational process was that a boy should not only be a man, but that he should be a good man. He might perhaps be a great man, but no man could become a great man unless he was a good man. It was possible for all the alumni of that College to be good men but it could only be insofar as the influence exercised upon them showed the Divine Power in all created things. If they found that, all through their education time they could go out into the world equipped at all points… like Churcher’s College…see the young life of Hampshire and England growing up under the direction of men who were capable of turning boys into sound English Christian gentlemen.”15 Loud and prolonged applause greeted the Bishop’s stirring panegyric. Whilst clearly not needing to endear himself any more to the boys, nevertheless the Bishop said that when he was at school it was a happy procedure that the distinguished visitor asked for a half day holiday for the school which, said the Bishop, “I hereby do.”15 More loud and prolonged applause followed, leaving the Headmaster A.H.G. Hoggarth no option but to obey.

In 1937, Armistice Sunday fell during the half term holiday and thus the school community was unable to attend the service in St Peter’s Church in the town, an arrangement that seems to have been in place for some time. The following year Lord Bessborough was guest of honour at Speech Day, making a number of references to the value of education with reference to Christianity. “If we stop educating ourselves we become what St Paul described as ‘mere cumberers of the ground’”15 imploring the boys to become “the very best in whatever station it might please God to call them”15, and summoning Nelson’s death-bed words, “thank God I have done my duty”15 when encouraging each student to do their best.

In 1939, the boys from Churcher’s “were taken by local builders’ lorries to the large sandpit in Borough Road…where they spent hours filling the sandbags which were used to protect the public buildings in Petersfield such as the Town Hall, the post office, the police station, the churches and the banks.”16

The July 1939 Churcherian includes a write up of ‘A Canterbury Tale’; not a theatrical performance as one might assume, but rather a cycle ride from school along the old Pilgrim’s Route to Canterbury. Along the route these intrepid adventurers took in a number of sites of interest including Waverley Abbey in Surrey, which was the very first monastery founded in Britain by the reforming Cistercian religious order, and which the History department would visit some 77 years later in 2016. At Canterbury they had a glimpse of “medieval ecclesiastic architecture and beauty”15 before turning

15 The Churcherian Magazine for home and fighting the wind all the way back. They returned to a school that had a science club, but still no Christian Union.

In December 1941, 26 pupils were confirmed by Bishop Kitching. Kitching had returned to England to take up the position of Archdeacon of Portsmouth, after being appointed the first Bishop of the Upper Nile in 1926. He also held a confirmation service for the boys at St Mary’s, Sheet, in 1946, when the school roll was 335. The theme of his sermon on this occasion was moving from darkness to light, and was based on the words of St Paul in Romans 13:12, ‘The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armour of light.’ The Vicar of St Peter’s as well as the newly appointed School Chaplain and the vicar of St Mary’s, Rev. E.F.K. Dana, also took part in the service, which saw 20 boys confirmed. Rev. Dana was the seventh curate of St Mary’s who acted as School Chaplain, the first being the Rev. A.F. Smethurst who was appointed in 1929, and upon whose appointment as Chaplain the school’s relationship with the church was formalised. In this tercentenary year the school pays tribute to the many clergy at St. Mary’s, and more recently St Peter’s, who welcomed generations of boarders to Sunday morning services, and who have been a source of huge support to the school.

The Norman church of St Peter, with its magnificent chancel arch, must have seen a great deal over the last nine centuries in its position on the south side of the town’s market square; there’s no doubt the V.E. celebrations on 8th May 1945 were amongst the most memorable. For six long years through the war, Churcher’s College had played host to Emanuel School from London, which had been evacuated. The boys had got used to sharing facilities, although the arrangement necessitated that some lessons took place in the “back of pubs, youth clubs and churches.”17 V.E. Day marked the point when they could return home to London, and as the town celebrations to mark the end of the war were scheduled for the following day, Emanuel School took over the town square, and their Sixth Form Jazz Band, the Windsor Rhythm Kings, entertained the masses. Flags, bunting and lights had been set up, and the band played from on top of one of the concrete bomb shelters in the square, until midnight. Impressive though these Emanuel led festivities were, the records suggest they weren’t great at putting up their black out blinds! At a party to mark the end of Emanuel School’s stay in Petersfield, the Headmaster Cyril Broom presented “an annual prize to commemorate Emanuel’s long stay and to express gratitude for the friendly hospitality the pupils and staff of Emanuel had enjoyed.”17

The Carol service of 1946 appears part of a tradition which had become “something of very real value, for it brings the spirit of the festival to us while we are still a community here, before we seek our homes for the holidays”.18 The service appears to contain many of the features we would recognise today, with a sequence of Bible readings interspersed with carols.

During the Second World War any kind of bell ringing was forbidden, as it was only to be used as a sign of an invasion. “All lesson changes and the boarders’ lives were indicated by a hand bell, but after V.E. Day in May 1945, ringing of the Bell in the clock tower was sanctioned. Mr. Woodfield (Div teacher) was taking a class in ‘B’, right beside the tower, and as duty master he sent a boy out to ring the bell. The bell sounded once or twice, followed by a pause then a dull thud! Yes, you have guessed – after five years of inactivity the bell had fallen out of the tower and only just missed the ringer underneath. All Mr. Woodfield could say was ‘an act of God he was not killed.’”19

More post war reminiscences from R.G. Franklin mention a day that, for the boys, became known as ‘Black Sunday’. “The day began like any other with the boarders heading down to Sheet Church for morning service presided over by Mr. Hoggarth from his ‘back seat of the stalls’19. That afternoon “the fifth and sixth formers had been caught trespassing in the Adhurst Woods with girls from the Portsmouth High School, who were evacuated to the house of Adhurst St Mary.” After this, as punishment, the boarders were denied their usual Sunday afternoon walk. This doesn’t seem to have deterred R.G. Franklin however, as he and “Entwistle…went somewhat out of bounds one Sunday afternoon to go train spotting on the Waterloo-Portsmouth line, however we spotted more than we anticipated because mid-way through the warm summer afternoon we heard girlish laughter and there on the other side of the tracks were a group of shapely young ladies in Adhurst Woods bathing in the river in the nude.”19 From the sublime to the ridiculous, perhaps. At the very least the inclusion of such reports in the school magazine shows us how different things are today.

References to Christianity are few and far between in the Churcherians of the late 40s and early 50s. It would be easy to attribute this, and the corresponding lack of information after WWI, to the wars having a secularising effect on the school and wider community, but former staff member

Chris Brown suggests that “the bonds (between the school and the church) were undoubtedly strengthened and deepened during the First and Second World Wars, when many Old Churcherians lost their lives.”20 It was in 1951 that Winston Churchill stopped at the gate of the College and met the Headmaster George Schofield. In the RAF during the war, Schofield was involved with the Barnes Wallis bouncing bomb, famous in the Dam Busters’ Raid on the three 19 The

German dams in 1943. He is mentioned in a book on the raid as Lieutenant Schofield.

During his time at the school, O.C. Peter Hyde recalls “knowing that as a Roman Catholic, I was not allowed to participate in prayers that were always said at the beginning of assembly.”21 Peter began his Churcher’s College career in 1953 at 10 years old; he was the youngest pupil in the school having taken his 11 plus a year early. In the March 1956 Churcherian, we get a report of the first ever meeting of the Christian Union. D.F. Ingram (Hon Sec) sketches out its origins and aims; “during the Summer Term 1955 about five of us thought that a society of this character would be a good addition to the list of school societies…the aims of the society are… to be a group of friendly persons meeting to discuss problems and to find out more about the perfect life i.e. The Life of Christ.”19 Meetings looked at Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians as well as St John’s Gospel, and debated questions like that posed by an 8 year old boy in the West Indies who asked, why didn’t God will the devil so that he could be good? Meetings were on a Monday after school, but this clashed with other engagements that the boys had. Attempts were made to liven up the meetings and participants were asked to “add their weight and voice to discussions”.19

The 1957 report names Mr. David Walters and Mr. Leith Samuel as guest speakers, with Mr. N. Lempriere and Rev. A.T. Creery-Hill lined up for the coming months. There was a desire to hear voices from outside the Churcher’s community, but when there were none the influence of a teacher, Mr. Muir, was greatly appreciated. By the end of the decade E.A. Jarman was Hon Sec of the Christian Union, the membership had doubled, meetings had not been below double figures and the students were watching lots of ‘Fact and Faith’ films. One of them, called ‘Time and Eternity’, was shown by Cdr. Stileman, who had been invited in to the school; more than 100 students watched this in ‘A’. There was also a talk by Mr. Watts on Christian work in Ghana, but there remained “great difficulty in finding a meeting time”19 because of the pull of other engagements in an increasingly busy school. The Trinity was a focus of discussion for much of the term, but meetings also covered loving one’s neighbour as oneself. Leith Samuel, a gifted evangelist and Bible teacher with a strong commitment to systematic expository preaching, spoke on the subject of ‘who is the Holy Ghost?’

Alas, many students were unable to be present at this “extremely instructive meeting”22 as they were playing cricket.

At the start of the Swinging Sixties the school play was Murder in the Cathedral by T.S. Eliot. In a marked difference to the Churcherians of the modern day, write-ups, particularly in sport and drama, didn’t shirk from detailing the shortcomings of the boys, or the staff. Of Murder in the Cathedral it was said that “the first three (of the four tempters) did not use the stage enough. The fourth tempter, N. Hardy, was hampered because he had speeches which did not enable him to use much action.” Raymond Ingram, who played Thomas Becket, “with the help of skilled make-up, wig and costume…looked very much like an elderly and venerable archbishop.” The boys who had to play the women of Canterbury “did so with distinction”.22

In 1968 the school play was The Holy Experiment, set in Buenos Aires in 1767 and concerning the moral dilemma of the Father Provincial about whether to obey the vows of his sect or follow his own personal convictions. Despite the “theatrical value for money”22 and the “diligence and perseverance that…reaped a fitting reward”22, the criticisms once again are worthy of note. “Christopher Knight gave a rollicking Bustillas…but was inclined to over-act…One or two minor mishaps did not spoil the effect of the play as a whole. Once, the Father Provincial started to recite the contents of a letter before he had quite opened it… On another occasion three Spanish merchants were sitting on a bench, and when two of them jumped up to protest, the weight of the other one caused the bench to tilt precariously in the air and then come down with a loud crash.”22

Soon after the curtain came down on this theatrical extravaganza, Cdr. Stileman returned to project another ‘Fact and Faith’ film for the Christian Union, called ‘The Red River of Life’. The Union was now attracting students from outside the regular membership to its meetings. They heard the Rt. Rev. F.F. Johnstone talk of his 40 years’ experience in Egypt, and Mr. R.N. Wyatt talk about the Parable of the Sower. Later in the year Rev. H.C. Coupland from the Congregational Church gave a talk on ‘Current Problems in Christianity’; the main one being the disunity of the churches throughout the world, something that was close to the heart of Harry Carpenter, the Bishop of Oxford, too. Mr. M.J. Leppard, known affectionately by the boys as ‘Spotty’, was welcomed as the new Chairman of the Union, replacing Mr. Martin.

Spotty was one of a number of teachers remembered by O.C. John Daniels, who got in touch after an appeal for memories from O.C.s about the religious life of the school during their time. He writes, “As to background, my parents were very strong Christians, but I know the death of my father, two years before coming to the school, made me play down my connections to church and faith in my initial school years. Religious observance was certainly very evident in daily assemblies during my years there from 1963 to 1970 (‘Reg’ Parnell tinkling the ivories for “He Who Would Valiant Be”, and Div’ classes … Divinity, as it was called back then overseen by ‘Spotty’ Leppard)… By the way, apologies if time has muddied the waters regarding names and detail … especially master’s nicknames. And I trust it’s understood that those nicknames are included for the very fond memories that they evoke, with not a hint of disrespect to any of them. (Who could ever forget the joys of getting ‘Spotty’ distracted from his train of thought, or enticing “Reg” to spend a whole music lesson on some wartime story or other? Or, being on the receiving end of “Fusty” Kershaw’s slipper in Latin classes, and the ‘badge of honour’ which getting a slippering from him seemed to represent!).

Anyway, the significance of Churcher’s to my Christian faith actually came in my later years in the person of Mr. Brian Magor, a young History teacher who was obviously more aligned with ‘1960s’ culture than some of his rather older colleagues. He was certainly an agnostic, if not an atheist, in terms of religious beliefs, but his challenge to what I might call my ‘inherited’ faith was the catalyst that most certainly started the change to it becoming a ‘living’ faith.

What started it was my essay on Methodism. That particular History class was examining the historical and social effects of the Methodist movement, and with my ‘Free Church’ background I was quite familiar with the story of John and Charles Wesley. Exactly what I wrote, I can’t quite remember, but I know a significant chunk of my essay centred on John Wesley’s conversion story and the religious aspects of it; and was definitely written more out of familiarity with it, than any desire to announce my Christian background. Anyway, Brian’s short written comments made it clear he didn’t agree with my conclusions, and it sparked a conversation … maybe more than one … although whether privately or in class, I can’t remember for sure. It not only sparked conversations, it sparked a great deal of thought, of self-searching, and questioning what I’d been brought up to believe. It was the first real challenge to those beliefs that I’d ever actually encountered, and it was during the few final years at Churcher’s that, as a result of it, I came to realise I genuinely did want Christian faith to be foundational to my life, and not merely an appendage or a footnote.

‘The unexamined life is not worth living,’ as the ancient proverb says, and I, likewise, am still incredibly grateful for that challenge of … and for … a lifetime!”23

Within four or five years of leaving Churcher’s in the summer of 1970 John was already embarking on what turned out to be a lifetime journey as a Christian songwriter, musician, producer and composer in ‘Gospel Music’ on both sides of the Atlantic; “and as far as my Christian faith is concerned, Churcher’s certainly played a large, although somewhat unusual, part in its development.”23

The Christian Union in the sixties welcomed Dr. A. Illiff of the Church Missionary Society who showed a film of the North West Frontier, and the work done there by medical missions of the society. There was a demonstration of church music, a discussion about church unity involving clergy from different denominations, as well as a the showing of a film about the building of Coventry Cathedral in advance of an Arts Society visit there. Following the final meeting of 1963, given by Rev. J.A.R. Marks, RN about his work as a naval Chaplain, the Hon Sec G.F. Mussert reflected on the “encouraging attendances”24. In the same year three members of the Union also visited Chichester Theological College, the oldest theological college in Britain. Their visit must have been shortly before building work started on the College’s new building, Gillett House, designed by Ahrends, Burton and Koralek and built between 1963 and 1965. The 1965 edition of Pevsner has a footnote about this planned addition; “very chunky”25. A more recent edition says, “In Brutalist style, it was christened by students ‘Colditz’”26

The choir were routinely singing Advent Carol Services in St Peter’s in the town, and in 1967 it was remarked that “many of the boys were pleasantly surprised by the appeal of some of the carols and hymns sung.”24

In the year that George Harrison spent ten weeks in the Top Ten Charts, and got to Number 1 with My Sweet Lord, 1971, L.C. Hewis wrote a stinging criticism of the religiously minded in The Churcherian, asking with a rhetorical flourish if religions that believe in their own gods can all be right. He questions those people “afraid of using contraceptives because the Pope said ‘no’”. He declares that “the singing of a hymn, or the saying of a prayer” is “ridiculous” and describes religion as a “farce”24 It’s good to see The Churcherian support free expression, and his short article is nicely juxtaposed with one titled “Basic questions by the editor answered by the school Chaplain”24, Rev. Arthur Brown. Amongst the many questions posed one was about contraception to which Rev. Brown replied “All forms of birth control are God’s gift to mankind”.24

Another pleasing juxtaposition can be found in the July 1978 Churcherian, where “A Rejection of Metaphysics”24 is placed next to a piece of artwork titled “There is a green hill far away”24. In the 1976 and 1978 editions there is no mention of a Christian Union, but there was a model railway society, an aircraft recovery club, bridge team, stereo group and printing club. The challenges to religion that appear in the Churcherian reflect the way that society was changing at that time. Church attendance in England fell from 50% in 1851, to 25% in 1900 and to 6% in 2017, suffering a steep decline in the 1970s. However, the Christian life of the school seems to have undergone quite a considerable revival in the 1970s; the College would experience a religious fervour it had not seen before.

Roy Bowden joined the staff in 1972, and he recalls the junior boarders (up to age 14) being accompanied to church each Sunday by the member of staff on duty, and a senior prefect, to ensure that all arrived safely and in good time for the Service. This would be either St Peter’s or St Mary’s in Sheet, although it is unclear what dictated the venue and it may have simply been a question of variety. On the first and last weekend of the term, he recalls, there was a service in school and all boarders, junior and senior, attended. David Chapman, Housemaster of Mount House, invited the Chaplain into school to play a part in the boarding community, and in the lives of the boys. “St. Mary’s Church served as the spiritual base for members of the College staff living in the locality, some of whom served on the P.C.C., and some pupils supported the choir.”27

In the 1973 Churcherian there is a write-up of ‘Jesus Rock!’ This seems to have been a concert with about 180 people in the audience, with a guest appearance from Terry Dene. Dene had three Top Twenty hits between June 1957 and May 1958. After some personal turmoil Dene turned his back on the British pop scene and became an Evangelist, and began singing and writing spiritual and gospel music, recording three gospel albums. He travelled in the UK and abroad as an itinerant preacher, playing in churches, prisons and other venues such as schools. Below the Jesus Rock write-up there is a Christian Focus Report, which although it had had attendance sometimes nearing 100 was “still relatively a dark horse.”27 The group seems to have evolved from ‘Bible Study Group’ which was considered too serious as well as inaccurate, as no-one brought a bible to read. “So far”, the report says, “entry fees have been avoided for nearly all the meetings, for the simple reasons that no-one can afford to pay, and we have enough money at present.

Finances are organised by God, which means we never know quite where we stand, except that it is never in the red. The Parents’ Association has been generous in the past, and thanks to a concert the balance now stands at about £20.”27

Both Roy Bowden, and O.C. Alban Morley, attribute the growing impetus behind the Christian life of the school at this time to a young teacher, Chris Brown, who arrived in 1974. Alban Morley says, “There were several Christian teachers in the school, and it was a privilege to learn from them. I believe we were all inspired by the charismatic Welsh RE teacher of our generation, Chris Brown, whose enthusiasm was second to none - some of us even took O Level RE a year early thanks to off-timetable weekly lunch-hour lessons. Under his unique auspices, I enjoyed both my unusual trip to Quarr Abbey one weekend, and being in charge of the Christian Forum.

Mr. Brown led Assembly every Saturday morning and regaled us with memorable personal anecdotes to bring to life the moral of his message. He was not the tallest teacher but we all looked up to him.

I also recall his reassurance during one end-of-term Assembly when, surreally, the hot-water pipes broke. As ‘A’ filled up with water, he told us all not to panic - in a way that instantly echoed Clive Dunn’s classic Lance Corporal Jones’ role in Dad’s Army.

Something which seemed radical at the time (mid 70s) was also inviting the fairly evangelical school captain of the time to take Assembly on occasion, thereby introducing us to revolutionary music such as Joni Mitchell’s Big Yellow Taxi and Queen’s Jesus, with their powerful lyrics (and level of volume). I think these took absolutely everyone by surprise.”28

Chris Brown’s report for Christian Forum in 1979 reflects on the “remarkable revival of interest in the spiritual and philosophical traditions of the Far East in the closing years of the sixties”, and how, “the Beatles played no small part in this wave of religious exploration and euphoria”27. But within a few years, as “theatre-goers on both sides of the Atlantic were inspired”27 by shows like Jesus Christ Superstar and Joseph and the Technicolour Dreamcoat; “suddenly Indian religion was out and the Jesus People were in… the charismatic movement reaped the plentiful harvest of the…evangelical fervour.”27 This Christian Forum which was launched in 1977 never had an attendance of fewer than 50 boys at its regular meetings in 1978 and was truly ecumenical, inviting Christians of every denomination to participate or speak. Chris Brown reflects on this time: “The connection of the College with the Christian Church, in a wider sense was greatly increased in the early 1970s. A boarder in College House named Martin Robertson became a committed Christian, and was filled with a joy in the Lord which he shared with many boarders as well as day pupils; through his influence many boys came to put their faith in Jesus Christ. It was through Martin Robertson’s suggestion that a lunchtime society named Christian Forum came into being. To this society, Christian leaders, clergy, and speakers representing all the main Christian denominations were invited to address pupils attending the Christian Forum. Many Petersfield Clergy and Pastors gave their support, and in every term there would be five or more guest speakers. Among those who came were well known speakers: the authors Brian Greenaway, Jessie Russell, and Jack Lemon; monks, friars, Prison Chaplains, Christian music groups, and a remarkable evangelist named Jim Sepulveda. This Society undoubtedly gave pupils the opportunity to hear well-informed Christians talk about their faith, and invite questions. The Headmaster, Donald Brooks, who supported the Christian Forum, would always publish the names of the Speakers in the School Calendar. Often, he would invite some of the best speakers to return to lead a boarders’ service at the beginning or end of term.”29

It was Chris Brown who organised the first trip to Quarr Abbey on the Isle of Wight, visits that took place on the First Sunday in Advent. Unfortunately, no-one in the Abbey community now was around when these visits took place, but Fr. Gregory of the

Abbey community has wished the school well for its tercentenary celebrations. We do have the writeup of the visit however, by Alban Morley. Five Sixth Formers were on the trip and were a little apprehensive given Chris Brown’s warning of being locked in a cell from Friday until Sunday. However, the ‘cells’ were most comfortable and the Brothers welcoming. The write-up concludes, “The weekend was completely different to all our expectations – we were not restricted in any way, let alone locked in cells. We were not obliged to attend any services. The monks treated us as guests, humbly practising their vows of Christian hospitality. Their simple goodness made a deep impression on us all, and we were unanimous in recommending the experience should another opportunity be offered.”30 More recently Alban Morley has reflected further on these trips to the Abbey, “To home in on the Quarr Abbey experience, I think it was the first one of its kind, and the framework around our trip was to ascertain to what extent you could live out Christian values if shut off from the world. We went on a Friday and returned on the Sunday, travelling by train and ferry to Ryde. We were welcomed as retreat guests by the Brothers, invited to share their lifestyle as much as we wanted - I recall tending tomato plants, going to services including in the middle of the night and sitting in silence through meals at which one monk would read to everyone - surprisingly, the memoirs of a politician (rather than a medieval saint). I also recall that the Sunday morning service was attended by quite a few locals, which partially answered our overriding initial question.

I think that it was because I had made this trip that I was encouraged to go on to visit Taizé a couple of times, which I found invaluable. I had been brought up a Catholic and this breadth of spiritual experience helped me to cope with various different work environments (eg from teaching at liberated Bedales to - at the time - rather antiquatedly traditional Catholic St John’s, Southsea).

I wish I could remember more about our Christian Forum meetings. I seem to recall them taking place in various venues, and we didn’t have a chapel then, though I think it was planned (perhaps the late Terry Walker’s classroom or the old Art Room at the top of the stairs in the main block). I don’t recall meeting for prayer, only talks, given by either visiting speakers or Christian teachers - and giving the inevitable and probably very stilted vote of thanks!”31

As well as the Quarr Abbey visits, it was also Chris Brown who made Room 45 at the top of Old College, now a drama studio, into a chapel and filled it with church pews, which Headmaster Donald Brooks purchased, possibly from the Petersfield Town Hall or from one of the local schools. “St. Mary’s clergy celebrated Holy Communion there every Wednesday evening, and these services were well attended.”31 However, with a growing school the pressure for classrooms was too great for the chapel to be maintained in such a large room and it then moved to a smaller room in Old College. In these years several clergy from St. Mary’s taught Religious Studies lessons to pupils in the First Forms to enable the children to have a connection with the school Chaplain.

“One final thing I should perhaps have mentioned”, Alban Morley continues, “was that it was thanks to getting my place at Caius that I ended up meeting Mother Teresa a couple of times, in Calcutta.

Caius being full of medics, I was soon persuaded by friends in college to go out and do voluntary work in India. I… had an amazing and spiritually enriching experience, working in the Home for the Dying alongside other Missionaries of Charity, and volunteers.

What I think I appreciated at Churcher’s was the encouragement to focus on and commit to whatever seemed of personal value.”31

With Donald Brooks as Headmaster, 1980 saw the arrival of girls at the school, and the ordination as Deacon of John Ward, formerly College Housemaster and Head of Religious Education, in Ripon Cathedral. The 1980 Churcherian also features this amusing poem by John Peters:

Schoolboy Epitaph

The schoolboy stood at the pearly gates, His head was bent and low, He meekly asked the man of fate Which way he had to go “What have you done” St Peter said “To gain admission here?”

“I went to Churcher’s” the schoolboy said “For many and many a year”. St Peter opened wide the gates And smiled on him as well “Come in and choose a harp me mate You’ve had your share of hell.30

The mid-1970s saw the arrival at Churcher’s of Rhidian Brook, who came to his Christian faith later in life. His first novel, The Testimony of Taliesin Jones, won three prizes, including the 1997 Somerset Maugham Award, and concerns a young boy’s search for God. Rhidian is a regular contributor to BBC Radio 4’s Thought For The Day, a selection of which were published in his book ‘Godbothering’ in 2020.

The Chapel notes in the Churcherian cover the death of Rev. Colin George, four years after he became Chaplain in 1976. It says that he “arrived in

Churcher’s at an important time in the Christian life of the College; there was what might be described as a wave of religious fervour sweeping through the school and prayer groups were mushrooming everywhere.”32 It was Rev. George who comforted the school community after a boy called Martin Fry was knocked down and killed by a car in 1978, and when another boy was killed when falling from a train the Chaplain from St Mary’s was again on hand. The same duty was performed by the current Chaplain Rev. Will Hughes after the death of a pupil, Ed Vergette, in 2013. “It is at such times of deep sorrow that the community in Churcher’s College has felt supported, comforted, strengthened and deeply grateful for that special relationship, connecting St. Mary’s Church, St Peter’s Church and Churcher’s College.

In the 1980s there was another powerful strengthening of the bonds between the Church and College. The Petersfield Churches held an Evangelistic event in the Petersfield Town Hall, and to this most of the town clergy representing the main church denominations attended. Towards the end of the evening there was an altar call whereby some of those attending made their way to the front; among those who went forward were several Churcher’s College boarders. This gave rise to a significant number of Churcher’s pupils becoming faithful Christians. It also forged links with the Herne Farm Fellowship, a flourishing Christian house church movement located close to the College estate. One of their leaders, a man named Dave Hopkins, was invited to lead a boarders’ Sunday service.

Alongside this development, the clergy at St. Mary’s maintained a needful calm, and steadying influence. The Chapel celebration of Holy Communion on Wednesdays continued, and a quiet, prayerful service of Compline was introduced. Clive Case, who later became Head Boy, gave much needed support to this.

The Anglican Church in the life of Churcher’s College has been varied: from the hosting of St. Marys’ Church fetes on the College grounds, to the use of St. Peter’s Church for Founders’ Day Services and Carol Services.”33

Clive Case arrived at Churcher’s in the autumn of 1981, and he remembers that the “Christian scene at Churcher’s in the 80s was pretty vibrant, although we took it for granted at the time. There is little doubt it had an effect on my future life as I went on to read Theology at university, to teach Religious Studies and eventually to be ordained as a priest in the Church of England. As a school Chaplain in a public school today, I am sure my vocation was moulded by my Churcher’s experience, for which I am very grateful.

As a boarder at Mount House (the junior boarding house that once existed over the bridge, across the road and next to what was the Anchor pub), every Sunday the Housemaster, Mr. Chapman, would walk us boarders down to one of the local churches for the morning service. We would visit a number of different denominations in the town and each church was definitely ranked: up at the top of the list was the URC, they seemed most fun and were always very welcoming, the Methodists always had rather long sermons, St Mary’s CofE in Sheet was the ‘standard’ service and the Catholic service usually elicited a groan when we were told that we were going there! I never really understood why we visited so many different churches; it was only some time later that I realised that Churcher’s was founded as non-denominational and this was a chance for the school to prove it.

Once we had moved on to one of the senior boarding houses, Ramshill or College House, we were released from our obligation to attend Sunday services. The Christian life of the school was, however, a highly evident presence in everyday school life. Other than assemblies in Hall, where Mr. Wilcocks would bash out hymns on the piano for us to sing along to (which we must have done badly since he would often grind to a halt mid-hymn and tell us to start again, but sing louder), there were year group services held in the School Chapel which was at the very top of College House... closest to Heaven, I suppose.”34

In his journal entry dated January 13th 1986 Chris Brown wrote, “Last term saw powerful movements in the spiritual life of the school. A mission was held in the town and boys were encouraged to go and listen to the evangelist Eric Delve. Lots of boarders went down and some came back full of being ‘born again’ Christians. I went to a Thursday night meeting; it was powerful stuff! I felt that it would be sensible to have some follow-up meetings here in school and I arranged for leading local churchmen to speak in Chapel during lunch hours on ten Fridays of last term. Consequently, there have been several baptisms and Michael Brunton has been speaking in tongues.”35

Clive Case also remembers these events. “There was a Christian mission in Petersfield and a number of us went to the Festival Hall to see what it was all about. A couple of the leaders from it came to Churcher’s to lead a prayer meeting in Chapel and my abiding memory of that was one of the leaders speaking in tongues, which all seemed very alien to us and rather exciting!”34 Clive also remembers that there “were many other one-off events… among them was a visit of the Christian pop group Cho, who returned a year later having re-branded to become New Beginnings – although I fear it all ended for the group soon after.”34

Recalling the ‘Tapestry of Carols’ he says, “the candle-lit service of non-Biblical readings, poems and carols followed by mulled wine and mince pies always seemed to be the real start of the festive season. There were weekly evening Eucharists held in Chapel which the priest-in-charge of St Mary’s, Sheet would preside at and, in my Sixth Form, a small group of us from College House would gather every evening to say Compline by candle-light. When I went up to St Andrew’s University, there was a weekly candle-lit Compline which evoked clear memories of my time at School.”34

John Roper, an Assistant Bursar and tutor in College House in the late 1980s, has good reason to remember the Eric Delve mission at the Petersfield Town Hall, when he experienced a healing. “I remember when I had arthritis in my knees very badly. The boys had seen me limping and very quickly told me about the faith healer who was in Petersfield.” Despite the failure of conventional treatments, and John’s cynicism, “the following day it appeared to be more painful and thinking there may be something to be gained, I decided to go at the last minute without telling anyone.

I watched with interest as one person after another fell backwards to have their fall broken by two of his helpers, who slowly lowered them to the ground.

After dealing with several people, he then made an announcement saying, I know there are people out there who haven’t come forward, I want you to come forward now. I hesitated and slowly I rose from my chair albeit somewhat apprehensive; this was to the delight of the boys who had tried so hard to persuade me to go.

It was my turn, he took my hand and started to speak to me very softly, his voice started to drift away and as it did the pain went with it. At that point I remember nothing, apparently bolt upright I fell backwards to be caught by his two helpers. I was pain free for some considerable time although I cannot remember now just how long.”36

In 1986 the Bishop of Portsmouth, Timothy Bavin, preached the Founder’s Day sermon. St Peter’s was where the school had always had Christmas and Founder’s Day services, until 1991 when the sports hall was built and the Founder’s Day was held on site. The Christian Forum continued “with much advice and guidance from Mr. Brown”37, and met at 8:30am every day in the chapel to pray, as well as continuing to host speakers and hold debates.

There was even a “renewal service where we shared in the laying of hands to receive the Holy Spirit and reaffirmed the vows of baptism.”38

Charitable work seems to have been an important part of the school just as it is today and the Cabaret Night in 1986 raised money from which Crisis at Christmas and the Prison Service Christian Fellowship benefitted by more than £100.

The departure of Rev. Brian Cook from St Mary’s, Sheet, and as school Chaplain, to take up a position as vicar of St Mary’s in Liss, plunged the parish of Sheet, and the school, into an interregnum. However, the school was not to be left a flock without a shepherd as Rev. Douglas Banyard from St Peter’s stepped in to ensure Chapel services continued. The spiritual life of the school continued to grow and Christian singers and evangelists Dave Bryant and Noel Richards visited as part of preparations for the Petersfield ‘Down to Earth Mission’, which was promoted by the local Council of Churches. The Christmas term finished with the now traditional ‘Tapestry of Carols’ and readings, and the girls and boys joined in with enthusiasm. Two retreats were held during the year, one to Quarr Abbey and a second to Nashdom Abbey in Buckinghamshire, a building designed in the Neo-Georgian style by architect Edwin Lutyens. At Nashdom the snow fell and the boys joined the monks for Compline. They were roused from their tranquillity at 5 a.m. by L. Pagliaro’s Mickey Mouse Clock, which signalled the time for Vigils. D. Hubbard seems to have found the rigours of the monastic life difficult as he “fell asleep and started snoring, much to the amusement of many of the monks, and in Lauds he fell asleep again.”38 Despite the light-hearted manner of the write-ups, the retreats seem to have been universally enjoyed by the boys, and were something from which they took great benefit. Of these visits Clive Case recalls, “Each year, Mr. Brown would take a small group of boys for a weekend retreat to Quarr Abbey on the Isle of Wight or to Nashdom Abbey in Buckinghamshire. We would all resolve to attend every one of the seven services held through each day, which meant being in Chapel for Vigils at 5.30am; no mean feat for teenage boys! The time for peace and spiritual reflection had a deep impact on me – more, I suspect, than I realised at the time.”39 Confirmation classes in 1986 were attended by over 20 pupils, and “a group of senior boys adopted the ancient office of Compline for daily use in the Chapel where it is said at 10pm.”38

The retreat to Nashdom Abbey the following year in 1987, when the school roll was 480, was slightly more memorable. Having got lost on the way the five Sixth Form students were able to meet the Japanese Bishop John Kudo, former Bishop of Korea. The boys had a chat with the Bishop who clearly had a slightly less enlightened view on the ordination of women than the boys did. After clearing up the guest house at the end of their stay, the five boys were transported back to College on a 64-seater coach. The November trip to Quarr Abbey, whilst no less enjoyable, was slightly less eventful.

The poet Robert Graves visited Quarr Abbey whilst convalescing during the Great War. In his 1929 memoir ‘Good-bye to all that’ he says, “hearing the Fathers at their plain-song made me for the moment forget the war completely…I half envied (them) their abbey on the hill, and admired their kindness, gentleness and seriousness. Those clean, whitewashed cells and meals eaten in silence at the long oaken tables, while a novice read The Lives of the Saints! The food, mostly cereals, vegetables and fruit, was the best I had tasted for years - I had eaten enough ration beef, ration jam, ration bread, and cheese to last me a lifetime. At Quarr, Catholicism ceased to repel me”40 .

Around the time of these school retreats to Nashdom and Quarr, Clive Case also recalls “the battle between the two Christian groups: Christian Forum vs Christian Union...Mr. Carter, who led Christian Union, would clutch a Bible plastered with stickers from Greenbelt; Mr. Brown, who led Christian Forum would shout from the bottom of the stairs outside the dining room to drum up support. On one occasion, to advertise the speaker Fred Lemon, Mr. Brown intoned: “Early lunch, boys! Come and hear the ex-con speaking in Chapel. Early lunch!” Who could resist the double-whammy of meeting a violent excriminal and getting into lunch early?”39 The guest speaker Fred Lemon was a man for whom drinking, violence and crime had brought him to Dartmoor Prison, on a charge of robbery with violence. It was there, on his prison bed, that he had accepted Jesus as Saviour, and the boys were enthralled by his story. Of the two Christian groups running at this time, more seems to have been remembered and recorded of Christian Forum. As Chris Brown recalls, “There was a very valid reason for calling the society Christian Forum rather than union: this was to ensure that pupils of all positions of faith and those just seeking a closer understanding would feel welcome to come along. As you will know, Christian Union is a well-known society intended for committed Christian believers. As worthy as that is, it was felt that the Forum should be completely open to everyone whatever their denomination, religious persuasion or none.”41

Peter Ingrams was vicar of Sheet and school chaplain from 1986-1996. The Carol services at St Peter’s, where he officiated, were ‘“ome of the most amazing services I’ve been a part of”42, and he recalls Director of Music David Groves’ “amazing rapport with the choir”42. At that time, it was the Deputy Head, Peter Sutton, who gave the final reading of John 1:1, a passage now read by the Headmaster Simon Williams.

When Peter became Chaplain, St Mary’s was still a daughter church to St Peter’s, but in 1991, with the church gaining in confidence, it became a parish in its own right. Peter was instrumental in ensuring that when the parish boundary was drawn, Churcher’s College became part of the parish of Sheet. Peter’s chaplaincy at the school was a big part of his ministry in the town.

With John Fishley as Headmaster, much of the role of chaplain was concerned with pastoral care, working with staff to support the students, coming in to school for a coffee and being around in case he was needed. The same regime continued when Geoffrey Buttle became Headmaster. Peter took confirmation classes with Chris Brown, with 20 students the most they ever had, and he remembers the close and valuable relations that Chris had with the students.

The primary contact Peter had was with the boarding community, and he recalls a different sense of belonging and community between the boarders and the day pupils; a different culture. As previously noted the boarders tended to go to different churches each weekend, with a visit to St Mary’s about once a month, and there were a few mix-ups, with the boarders arriving when they were not supposed to, or being nowhere in sight when the first few rows of pews in the otherwise crowded church had been reserved for them. With fewer boarders Peter’s contact with the school diminished, and he recalls a feeling of disillusionment amongst some staff at the removal of a part of school life that they most valued. Peter remembers the Christian Forum and Wednesday communion services, as well as worship at the start and end of term. When the communion and confirmation classes were dropped, Peter tried to integrate them into other things in the parish, but it was difficult to maintain the impetus.

Peter preached at Founder’s Day a number of times, and often used visual aids to get his message across. It was during Peter’s chaplaincy that St Mary’s organised a number of fetes which took place at the school, and one year Bishop Timothy Bavin held a stewardship event. Peter remembers the three Case brothers, and Tim Rodber, who went on to play rugby for England and the British Lions, all of whom attended confirmation classes. He also recalls a time when Tim Rodber was in St Mary’s Church at the same time as former Scotland Number 8 and British Lion Derek White, who also lived in the parish; the two of them stood head and shoulders above the rest of the congregation.

After Churcher’s, Peter and his wife Sandy moved to a church in Lock’s Heath in Southampton, where he worked for 11 years. Although now retired and living in the Champagne region of France, Peter is still an honourary Canon of Canterbury Cathedral. Peter served the Diocese as a Ministry and growth advisor focussing on lay training in pastoral care and worship leading, discipleship, and encouraging the development of lay and ordained teams working together. In retirement he works a few days a month alongside the Mission and Ministry team in a training and supervision capacity. Peter still also has connections with the school, as his godson Oliver teaches singing, and his cousin Skye works in the Art Department.

Cassandra (Cassie) Rix, nee Czepil, joined the Sixth Form in 1992 when Geoffrey Buttle was

Headmaster, and she remembers Christian Forum still taking place. Having been educated previously at Haslemere Convent School and, latterly, St Margaret’s Convent in Midhurst, an 11-16, she joined Rodney House where she was the only Lower Sixth female and one of seven girls in the year. While a student at St Margaret’s she played the organ at Sunday services at Chiddingfold Catholic Church, as well as attending occasional Polish Catholic Services in Milford where her father’s family had settled after WW2. At 16 years old, seeking greater freedom, Cassie stopped playing the organ every Sunday at Chiddingfold; she was given a stern talking to by the Priest and it was suggested that if she did stop playing she wouldn’t enjoy the Lord’s favour and should consider her options carefully. As the recipient of a Music Bursary for her singing voice, Cassie was heavily involved in the musical life of the school. In the summer before joining Churcher’s, she was invited by then Director of Music David Groves, to sing at the opening of the new Sports Hall which opened in the summer of 1992; she recalls singing Handel. Peter Ingrams led prayers at the opening.

She remembers singing in St Peter’s Church, and at the Summer Concert, and also singing in the town square as part of the school’s carol service. Most of all, she remembers the freedom to be who she wanted to be, whether that was academic, musical, sporting or theatrical. She recalls always feeling that there was an association between the school and the spiritual, but not one that was “oppressive, specific or exclusive.”43 Compared to her earlier school years, she remembers with great fondness the more liberal, non-denominational ethos she experienced at Churcher’s, as well as the “sense of splendour and strong feelings of spirituality”43 that she experienced when singing in St Peter’s. Although Cassie remembers singing hymns in assembly, she does not recall saying prayers. Neither does she recall the singing of the school hymn ‘Floreant Churcheria’, although at a recent event to mark the 300th anniversary of the school’s foundation, some of her contemporaries did sing it, which suggests it fell out of use some time between them joining the school as first years in 1987 and her joining in 1992. Cassie also remembers David Pook, who was Head of Religious Studies, and in whose memory the clock at the front of New College has been installed, on account of his appalling timekeeping. What he lacked in personal organisation he more than made up for in other ways. He was, Cass recalls, the funniest and most encouraging teacher she remembers at the time, with an incredible level of optimism, even when directing half of the Upper Sixth in a performance of South Pacific, against the recommendation of some of the staff, a musical which confronts issues of racism. Judy Grill also has happy memories of her time as a colleague of David’s, a teacher who “was passionate about ‘education’ of the whole child, not just the passing of exams. It was he who set up the Philosophical Society which met once a term. David went on to be Deputy Headmaster at King’s College, Macclesfield but sadly died several years later from cancer. His funeral was an extraordinary celebration with wonderful music and extracts from literature - his gift to us. It well attended by many former Churcher’s students, former teachers and (then) current teachers.”44

From 1996 to 1997 Chris Lowson was the vicar of St Peter’s during the interregnum at St Mary’s; he retired as Bishop of Lincoln at the end of 2021 after serving for ten years. Judy remembers him as “a very wise, spiritual vicar who contributed to school life with humour. His good understanding of young people was evident in whole school assemblies.”44 Rev. Sarah Chapman, the vicar at St Mary’s, was the first female Chaplain, and she also served as the first college counsellor from 1997-2002.

Unsurprisingly, when boarding finally finished at the school in 1998, when the final seven boarders left, the influence of the Chaplain, and the church, diminished further, although there was an enthusiasm for the role of Chaplain to be maintained, which it still is today. Under the successful leadership of Judy Grill, the Religious Studies department changed its name to Religion and Philosophy, both to better reflect the nature of the subject and, undoubtedly, as a marketing exercise. At that time, says Judy, “we moved from Old Testament Studies and Ethics, to Philosophy of Religion and Ethics. That was a big move for the department and the number of students increased. The department was developed, with other schools invited in to hear a range of outside speakers. A Junior Phil Soc was set up as well due to interest generated by the syllabus content.”45

Peter Ingram’s wife Sandy taught Religious Studies at the school with David Pook and Judy Grill, and she remembers her time in the department very fondly. The subject remains popular under the leadership of Tony Ostersen.

After Rev. Rob Dewing left the role of Chaplain and vicar of St Mary’s in 2011 there was another interregnum, and Rev. Will Hughes of St Peter’s kindly stepped in to fill the void. With the departure of Rev. Dewing the chapel in the school was closed; for some time, Holy Communion had been celebrated by just the Chaplain and the Headmaster, despite repeated invitations to the school community. Around this time hymn singing in assemblies also finished due to a lack of enthusiasm. When Rev. Richard Saunders was appointed vicar of St Mary’s in 2012 he was also appointed Chaplain and the school had two

Chaplains until Rev. Saunders’ retirement in 2020. Both Rev. Hughes and Rev. Saunders took, and Rev. Hughes still takes, twice-termly whole school assemblies both at the Senior School and Junior School in Liphook, and they have contributed to the teaching of GCSE and A Level Religious Studies as ‘expert witnesses’. During his time as Chaplain, Rev. Hughes has been appointed as an Honorary Canon of Portsmouth Cathedral after working as an Area Dean of Petersfield. Since 28th January 2021 Rev. Hughes has also been acting Archdeacon of the Meon.

Rev. Hughes takes confirmation classes at the school for around four or five pupils each year and he takes the school’s Carol Services at St Peter’s. The town’s Remembrance Day service is impressive, and the school’s CCF marches through the town to the War Memorial, where Rev. Hughes conducts the service. It was he who also dedicated the school’s new war memorial which was constructed in 2018, superseding the wooden wall panels in the Assembly Hall which were unveiled in 1920 by Rev. W.H. Bond, with a further one dedicated in 1949 by Canon E.C.A. Kent, when A.H.G. Hoggarth was Headmaster. At the 1920 unveiling, “The OTC was in full force with Captain

G.H. Piggott in command…At the outset, ‘God Save The King’ was sung and Captain Piggott read the lesson (Rev 21:1-7). Then followed the Apostles Creed and the hymn ‘The strife is o’er the battle done’.”46 The Chaplaincy remains an important aspect of school life.

One of the issues that Rev. Hughes has had to deal with in his time as vicar of St Peter’s is the silencing of St Peter’s bells, the noise of which annoyed some of the local residents, as the bells chimed through the night. A non-uniform day at the school in 2020 raised £1500 towards the fitting of a mechanism to allow the bells to ring in the daytime only.

In around 2014, through the efforts of two Christian teachers Matt Strachan and Rob Peck, a Christian Union started up again, and it is now run by John Lofthouse. Attendance is usually 7-15 pupils, but there have been up to 40. The emphasis of the meetings is on fellowship rather than bible study, and there is always pizza, with meetings ending with a prayer. Although St Mary’s is in an interregnum, the meetings are supported by Dave Loveless, the St. Mary’s youth worker, who is excellent in his role. During the coronavirus pandemic of 2020/21 the meetings continued, on Microsoft Teams when necessary, and the hope is for a trip to Canterbury some time soon, though it is doubtful that this will be on bicycles as it was in 1939.

“The connection of the College to the local Anglican Church as well as to the wider Church has been important: giving to pupils of Christian faith, other faiths, and none, an opportunity to explore, discover and develop a healthy respect for the religious point of view. Churcher’s College … has been blessed down its long history with staff who have valued the local church and supported the Church in the wider community.”47

It’s 28th August 2019 and the 1st XV rugby team are huddled together seconds before the start of the game. It’s their final tour match in Portugal against Agronomia RFC, whose ground is high up in the hills overlooking Lisbon. From the ground it is possible to look over the River Tagus to the Sanctuary of Christ the Redeemer on its southern shore, a replica of the statue that looks out over Rio de Janeiro. And from the huddle as the players squeeze together there erupts a war cry: ‘1, 2, 3 Church.’