St George's 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 Langham, Gillingham,

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

, England. It was designed by

Charles Ponting Charles Edwin Ponting, F.S.A., (1850–1932) was a Gothic Revival architect who practised in Marlborough, Wiltshire. Career Ponting began his architectural career in 1864 in the office of the architect Samuel Overton. He was agent for the Meu ...

and built in 1921. It 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 1985. Today the church is used for occasional services, and is maintained by the Manger family trust.

History

St George's was erected as a

chapel of ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently, generally due to trav ...

to the Gillingham parish church of St Mary the Virgin. The idea of building a small church at Langham, a hamlet to the west of Gillingham, originated with Mr. Alfred T. Manger of Stock Hill House, who was aware of the inconvenient distance of the parish church for residents of Langham and its surrounding farmhouses and dwellings. He intended to erect a small church on his estate, but died in 1917 before his plans were realised. In accordance with his wishes, Mr. Manger was buried in a vault on the site of his intended church on 29 January 1917. The site was consecrated by the

Bishop of Salisbury The Bishop of Salisbury is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Salisbury in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers much of the counties of Wiltshire and Dorset. The Episcopal see, see is in the Salisbur ...

, the Right Rev.

Frederick Ridgeway Frederick Edward Ridgeway (18484 May 1921) was an Anglican bishop from 1901 until his death 20 years later. Frederick Edward Ridgeway was educated at Tonbridge School and Clare College, Cambridge; he was younger brother of Charles, sometime Bis ...

, prior to interment. With his death, the family of Mr. Manger announced their intention to build a church in his memory once

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

ended. The church, designed by the diocesan architect

, was built in 1921 over the tomb of Mr. Manger and his wife, who died in 1919. It was dedicated by the

Archdeacon of Sherborne The Archdeacon of Sherborne is a senior ecclesiastical officer within the Diocese of Salisbury, England. They are responsible for the disciplinary supervision of the clergy within the five Rural Dean, area deaneries: Dorchester, Lyme Bay, Sherborn ...

, the Right Rev. Albert Joscelyne on 22 May 1921. Lieutenant Colonel Charles Harwood Manger, the eldest son of Mr. Manger, had the church dedicated to

Saint George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...

, the patron saint of soldiers, in memory of his brother, Lieutenant John Kenneth Manger, cousin, Private George Bredin Kitson, and brother-in-law, Second Lieutenant Robert Lancaster, who all fell during

Architecture

St George's is built of coursed and squared rubble stone, with a thatched roof and

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 ...

at the west end, containing one bell. Designed to accommodate up to 40 people, it 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 ...

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

, north

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...

and north porch. The original fittings and ornaments are largely of oak, including the lectern and altar. A marble slab in front of the altar marks the tomb of Mr. and Mrs. Manger.

References

External links

*
The Churches of St Mary the Virgin, Gillingham & St Simon and St Jude, Milton-on-Stour website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint George's Church, Langham Church of England church buildings in Dorset Grade II listed churches in Dorset 1921 establishments in England