Christ Church is a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

church in

Emery Down Emery Down is a small village in the New Forest National Park in Hampshire, England. Its nearest other village is Lyndhurst, Hampshire, Lyndhurst, which lies approximately south-east from the village. Overview Emery Down is a small village cl ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

, England. Designed by

William Butterfield William Butterfield (7 September 1814 – 23 February 1900) was a British Gothic Revival architect and associated with the Oxford Movement (or Tractarian Movement). He is noted for his use of polychromy. Biography William Butterfield was bo ...

, it was constructed between 1863 and 1864. The church has been a

Grade II listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

since 1987.

History

Christ Church was built to serve the scattered parts of the parish of Lyndhurst, including the hamlets of Emery Down and

Bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

. Although the parish church, St Michael and All Angels, had opened shortly beforehand, replacing an earlier church, it was considered unable to comfortably accommodate the entire congregation and was also criticised for being drafty and cold. As a resident of Emery Down, Admiral Frederick Moore Boultbee recognised the need for a church and funded the construction of Christ Church entirely at his own expense. The church cost approximately £1,300 to build, and the Admiral also provided an endowment of £1,700. The plans for the church were drawn up by

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, with Messrs. Hillary of

Andover Andover may refer to: Places Australia *Andover, Tasmania Canada * Andover Parish, New Brunswick * Perth-Andover, New Brunswick United Kingdom * Andover, Hampshire, England ** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station United States * Andov ...

hired as the builders. Construction began in mid-1863, and the church was consecrated by the

Bishop of Winchester The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' the offic ...

, the Right Rev.

Charles Sumner Charles Sumner (January 6, 1811March 11, 1874) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented Massachusetts in the United States Senate from 1851 until his death in 1874. Before and during the American Civil War, he was a leading American ...

, on 26 May 1864. With the completion of the church, Emery Down became a separate ecclesiastical parish distinct from Lyndhurst.

Architecture

Christ Church is built of local brick with

Bath stone Bath Stone is an oolitic limestone comprising granular fragments of calcium carbonate originally obtained from the Middle Jurassic aged Great Oolite Group of the Combe Down and Bathampton Down Mines under Combe Down, Somerset, England. Its h ...

dressings and a tiled roof. Red brick is predominately used, with some

diapering Diaper is any of a wide range of decorative patterns used in a variety of works of art, such as stained glass, heraldic shields, architecture, and silverwork. Its chief use is in the enlivening of plain surfaces. Etymology For the full etymolo ...

using blue brick. Designed to accommodate 165 persons, the church is made up of a

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

, organ chamber,

vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government of a parish in England, Wales and some English colony, English colonies. At their height, the vestries were the only form of local government in many places and spen ...

and north-west porch. There is a

bellcote A bellcote, bell-cote or bell-cot is a small framework and shelter for one or more bells. Bellcotes are most common in church architecture but are also seen on institutions such as schools. The bellcote may be carried on brackets projecting from ...

containing a single bell at the west end. The floor of the nave is laid with red and black squared tiles, and the chancel laid with encaustic tiles from

Mintons Mintons was a major company in Staffordshire pottery, "Europe's leading ceramic factory during the Victorian era", an independent business from 1793 to 1968. It was a leader in ceramic design, working in a number of different ceramic bodies, ...

. Fittings include the pews of stained deal, the lectern and altar table of oak, and the pulpit, which is placed on a pedestal of Bath stone. A wall tablet was installed in the church in 1915 in memory of Admiral Boultbee, who died in 1876.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Emery Down, Christ Church Church of England church buildings in Hampshire Grade II listed churches in Hampshire Churches completed in 1864 William Butterfield buildings