Church Guide (part 2)
Go through the South Door
The South Door and Porch
The main entrance to the church is through the south door. Like the north porch, the south porch has two storeys; it also has statue niches and a carved lily pot, emblem of the Virgin Mary, to whom the church is dedicated. Both storeys were originally used by the Vicar and Churchwardens to conduct the business of the town, with church records and muniments kept in the upper storey.
The Royal Commission volume on Huntingdonshire records that a date, with initials ‘G 1623 W S’, was formerly on the sundial surmounting the porch gable; it is now indecipherable.
Today, as we step through the porch, we see words of Jesus from St John’s gospel above the inner door: “I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD”. These words were placed there in the early 1990s for a flower festival and they invite us to enter the church seeking the light of Christ.
“I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord. Our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem.” (Psalm 122:1)
The Font
The font stands near the door of the church; it symbolises the entry of the baptised person into the community of the faithful.
The font has been in this position since 1921. The base dates from that time, but the font itself is thirteenth century. It is very worn now, but originally was octagonal in shape. An octagon is half-way between a circle, representing God, and a square, representing the earth. In baptism, heaven and earth touch, so it is not unusual for a font to be this shape.
The font’s lid is carved with fleur-de-lys and lilies and with the words of Jesus, ‘Suffer little children to come unto me.’
Godmanchester was founded on water – the Great Ouse which flows through the centre of the town was important for the livelihood of most of the residents until the nineteenth century.
The source of our lives is a fresh stream which flows from God at a very deep level through our beings, even if we don’t know it. Looking at this font, we remember that the source of our life is in God; he is the wellspring of our being and his life is like a river which flows through us and through creation, constantly refreshing it. Someone baptised in this font is being put in touch with God’s river of living water which flows through all things, and vows to live in a way that reflects God as the source of their life.
“Jesus said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.’” (John 7:38)
The Nave
If the font marks the beginning of the Christian journey, then the nave represents the journey itself. The Latin navis means ‘ship’, and the nave is the place where the people of God journey together. The aisle in the centre of the nave marks the way, and a procession along this aisle represents our journey through life towards God.
When the church was first built the congregation stood and perhaps moved about during the service, but from the Reformation onwards, pews were installed – until the 19th century many of these were reserved for particular families, though some of them have ‘FREE’ stamped on them, indicating that anyone could sit there without payment.
The South Aisle
One of the most striking things about the church is the stained glass. Most of it is nineteenth century, and much of it is by Charles Eamer Kempe, one of the great nineteeth-century artists in stained glass. Many of the windows were commissioned by and in memory of members of the Godmanchester family living at Island Hall.
Particular highlights in the south aisle are Kempe’s modified Jesse Tree window in memory of Philip Tillard, and his Annunciation and Nativity window in memory of Philippa Julia Tillard.
The window nearest the font, in memory of two Baumgartner children who died while on a journey in eastern Europe, depicts the flight of the Holy Family into Egypt and a row of Holy Innocents.
The window next to the south door featuring the three virtues of Justice, Courage and Humility, is in the style of Edward Burne-Jones, produced by the William Morris glass factory, and in memory of General Robert Julian Baumgartner.
“Doctrine and life, colours and light, in one
When they combine and mingle, bring
A strong regard and awe: but speech alone
Doth vanish like a flaring thing,
And in the ear, not conscience ring.”
(from The Windows by George Herbert, 1593–1633)
St Anne's Altar and Candle Stands
The side altar in the south aisle is dedicated to St Anne, who legend tells us was the mother of the Virgin Mary.
The altar and the reredos behind it commemorate the Tillard and Baumgartner families, and were designed by the eminent artist Martin Travers (1886–1948), who himself was baptised in the church and lies buried in the churchyard. There is a memorial to him in the floor to the left of the altar.
By the altar you will see a sculpture of St Anne with the Virgin Mary, made by John Fox, a local craftsman. Traditionally St Anne is portrayed teaching Mary to read, and there is a larger sculpture portraying this in the entrance to St Anne’s School, Godmanchester, a gift from the Church to the school when it opened in 1998.
The five-light east window above the reredos is a fine example of stained glass by Burlinson & Grylls, a firm set up in 1868 by G F Bodley, perhaps the most scholarly of all Victorian Revival architects. Commemorating Philippa and John and Baumgartner, it was commissioned by their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, a total of nearly two hundred in three generations. The top five windows are based on the Te Deum from the Book of Common Prayer, the service book compiled by Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury in the sixteenth century, which is still in use today. The lower level uses images from Jesus’ parable of judgement in Matthew 25, and relates them to other New Testament stories to illustrate the phrase from the Te Deum: ‘we believe that thou shalt come to be our judge.’
Please feel welcome to light a candle here and place it in the stands provided, and to use the prayer cards. A candle is a symbol of the prayers we offer for ourselves, for our loved ones and for the needs of the world. It will continue to burn after you have left, a symbol that your prayer is still alive before God. The candle also represents the light of Jesus Christ, whose words, ‘I am the light of the world’ are above the south door of the church. Day by day, Jesus offers light to guide us on our journey through life.
“Jesus said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)
Memorial Chapel
This is a memorial to those from the town who gave their lives in the 1914-1918 and 1939-1945 World Wars, their names inscribed on the reredos behind the altar, which itself was formerly a dining table, and was given to the church in 1984. The restored medieval piscina is visible on the east wall.
The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God,and no torment will ever touch them. (Wisdom 3:1)
They shall grow not old
as we that are left grow old,
Age shall not weary them,
nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun,
and in the morning
We will remember them.
(For the Fallen by Laurence Binyon)
The North Aisle
Not far down the north wall of the aisle you will see a small wood-mounted brass engraving, which dates from about 1520 and depicts an unknown civilian. Originally accompanied by other figures, he was formerly inlaid in a marble slab in the Memorial Altar sanctuary.
More of Kempe’s windows can be seen in the north aisle. The westernmost of the stained glass windows has a particular local significance, since it depicts St Etheldreda, the seventh-century queen of East Anglia who founded the Abbey which is now Ely Cathedral, the mother Church of this diocese of Ely. Opposite Etheldreda is Abbess Hilda of Whitby, another influential noblewoman of the same era, who was involved in the heated negotiations between the Celtic and Roman churches.
“Eternal God,
who made the Abbess Hilda
to shine like a jewel in our land
and through her holiness and leadership
blessed your Church with new life and unity:
help us, like her, to yearn for the gospel of Christ
and to reconcile those who are divided;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."
(Collect for St Hilda)
We believe that the Parish Church of Saint Mary the Virgin, Godmanchester, exists to build up the individual and corporate spiritual life of our Church and to spread the love of Christ through word and deed, by enabling those who live and work within our town to come into contact with God’s love and come to faith in Christ.