Swaythling
Swaythling is a suburb and electoral ward of the city of Southampton in Hampshire, England. The ward has a population of 13,664.
Swaythling is predominantly residential in character, and noted for its large student population due to its proxi ...
,
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
, stands on Tulip Road, just off the main Burgess Road. The church, and its associated hall, is a
Grade II listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
.
Creation of the parish
The Parish of St. Alban was formed at the beginning of 1932, mainly out of the South Stoneham Parish, but at that time there was no St. Alban's church, only a site on which to build it. The land had been part of Swaythling Farm and had been acquired through the foresight of the then Archdeacon of Winchester (Ven. A. E. Daldy). Until the new church was ready worship in the new parish took place in St. Agnes Church, from 1905 to 1933, on Portswood Road and in the Burgess Road Mission which until then had been in Highfield Parish (latterly known as St. Alban's Mission).
St. Alban's Church was completed in 1933.
The site was large enough for not only for the church but for the vicarage and large halls; the importance of the grouping of the buildings means that they are collectively listed as Grade II on the
English Heritage
English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses.
The charity states that i ...
list of protected buildings.
Architecture
St. Alban's Church was one of the first to be designed by the noted architect
Nugent Francis Cachemaille-Day
Nugent Francis Cachemaille-Day (1896–1976), often referred to as NF Cachemaille-Day, was an English architect who designed some of the most "revolutionary" 20th-century churches in the country. His Church of St Nicholas, Burnage has been c ...
and built by the Southampton builders GE Prince & Sons.
A "big
cruciform
Cruciform is a term for physical manifestations resembling a common cross or Christian cross. The label can be extended to architectural shapes, biology, art, and design.
Cruciform architectural plan
Christian churches are commonly described ...
church with (a) low, broad central tower,"The Buildings of England: Hampshire, page 574 it is on the Latin Cross plan and is late Gothic in style. The traditional outward appearance of the church contains a "spacious and well shaped interior", with a centralised altar that
Pevsner Pevsner or Pevzner is a Jewish surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Aihud Pevsner (1925–2018), American physicist
* Antoine Pevsner (1886–1962), Russian sculptor, brother of Naum Gabo
* David Pevsner, American actor, singer, da ...
described as "original and innovative". The east end of the church which would normally have formed the chancel was used as a
Lady chapel
A Lady chapel or lady chapel is a traditional British term for a chapel dedicated to "Our Lady", Mary, mother of Jesus, particularly those inside a cathedral or other large church. The chapels are also known as a Mary chapel or a Marian chapel, an ...
, while the main altar is sited under the central tower much closer to the congregation - now a common arrangement but present at St. Alban's from the first. Space for a choir, which in churches at this time was generally seated between the congregation and the altar, was to be provided in a western gallery which was never completed due to a lack of funding.
St. Alban's was one of the first churches Cachemaille-Day designed and it shows the architect's early exploration of the logic of the
Liturgical Movement
The Liturgical Movement was a 19th-century and 20th-century movement of scholarship for the reform of worship. It began in the Catholic Church and spread to many other Christian churches including the Anglican Communion, Lutheran and some other Pro ...
which would come to a fuller expression in the more obviously radical designs of later churches, for example St. Michael's, Northenden.
The east window is by
Christopher Webb
Christopher Rahere Webb (1886-1966) was an English stained glass designer.
His unusual second name was derived from that of the founder of St Bartholomew's Priory in London where his father, Edward Alfred Webb and his uncle, Sir Aston Webb ...
(1886–1966), one of the most important stained-glass artists of the mid twentieth century, whose other work in Hampshire includes the east window of the Bishop's Chapel at Wolvesey Palace. The main figures in the window represent
Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...
flanked on the left by
Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...
St. Alban
Saint Alban (; la, Albanus) is venerated as the first-recorded British Christian martyr, for which reason he is considered to be the British protomartyr. Along with fellow Saints Julius and Aaron, Alban is one of three named martyrs recorde ...
and St. Wilfrid. The glass was the gift of Mrs F. Watkins in memory of her husband.
Clergy
''Vicars of St. Alban's''
1932–1946 The Revd Harold Bennett
1946–1967 The Revd Howard Rees-Jones
1968–1976 The Revd Kenneth Bachell
1976–1988 The Revd Frank Chivers
1988–1991 The Revd John Moore (Priest-in-Charge)
In 1992 the parishes of St Alban's and St Mary's were united as Swaythling Parish.
''Vicars of Swaythling''
1992–1999 The Revd John Moore
2000-2013 The Revd Canon Gary Philbrick
2014–Present The Revd Peter Dockree
Notes
References
Pevsner, N. and Lloyd, D., ''The Buildings of England: Hampshire and The Isle of Wight'' (1973)