The New Church is Opened#
Hopeful of the new St. Thomas’ Church being completed before the Advent season of 1856, a date for the consecration of the Church appears to have been originally set for November 25th. But as with any building project, it seems that this date was perhaps a little ambitious.
Church opening postponed, November 1856
Hampshire Advertiser - Saturday 01 November 1856
NEWPORT, Saturday, Nov. 1. The Reopening of St. Thomas’s Church. is postponed for a fortnight, in consequence of the elaborate nature of the work connected with the erection of the pulpit and reading-desk, and some other parts of the interior ; but Mr. Dashwood, the builder, has guaranteed that the edifice shall be ready for consecration by the 11th of December next ; so that it will now be about Monday, the 15th, that the consecration will take place, subject to arrangements of the Bishop of Winchester as to the day.
Consecration date postponed, November 1856
Isle of Wight Observer - Saturday 08 November 1856
St. Thomas’s Church.— The consecration of this beautiful edifice, which was to have taken place the 25th inst., is postponed for another fortnight, in consequence the elaborate nature of the work to be completed rendering it impossible to be advanced sufficiently far before that time.
Even with a fortnight’s delay, it seems the Church was still not ready. And so a special license was required from the Bishop to allow a service to take place there in the run up to Christmas.
Opening of the new Church, December 1856
Isle of Wight Mercury - Saturday 20 December 1856
On Sunday, the 21st init., the new church of St. Thomas will be opened for Divine service, by license of the Lord Bishop of the diocese. The Rev. E. Mc All, Rector of Brighstone, and Rural Dean, will preach in the morning; the Rev. G. Prothero, of Whippingham, chaplain to Her Majesty, in the afternoon ; and the Rev. G. H. Connor, M.A., Minister of St. Thomas’s, in the evening. Great commendation is due to the Committee and all who have assisted in bringing this great work so near completion, as nothing but untiring zeal, great perseverance, much industry, and an indomitable determination to overcome difficulties could have succeeded in the vast undertaking. Newport has now a Metropolitan Church, worthy of the capital of the late of Wight, a pride and ornament to the borough, and a proof of the denoted attachment of the inhabitants to the church of their forefathers.
Another month was to pass, and then the church was consecrated at the end of January, 1857.
Consecration of St. Thomas’ Church, January 1857
Hampshire Advertiser - Saturday 24 January 1857
CONSECRATION OF ST. THOMAS’S CHURCH.
A day long anticipated by a great proportion of the inhabitants of this town and its vicinity has at length arrived ; many labours and more anxieties have had their reward. Local perseverance, and general benevolence,— royal munificence, and the widow’s mite,— have united to rear in our Island capital an edifice worthy of the place it occupies, and of the purposes for which it is designed. The New Church of St. Thomas has been thrown open for the accommodation of our townsmen, and was officially dedicated to its holy purposes on Tuesday last, the 20th instant, by the Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of Winchester.
The Bishop entered the church at a few minutes after eleven o’clock, where he was met by the Rev. E. M’All, Rural Dean, the Rev. E. D. Scott, Vicar of the Parish, and the Ministers of the Church,— the Revs. G. H. Connor, and J. S. Wilkinson, and, we believe, the whole of the Clergy of the Island, with the exception of one gentlemen, who was obliged to leave home, but who sent in his stead a liberal contribution to the building-fund. The Corporation had already taken their places in the handsome and commodious seats allotted to them. The Worshipful the Chancellor of the Diocese, Dr. Sumner, read the deed of consecration.
The ceremony was conducted by his lordship with his invariable impressiveness of manner, by which he so greatly adds to the solemnity of such services ; and it was a sight though but seldom seen, yet long to be remembered. An overflowing congregation were assembled, who manifested the greatest interest in the proceedings. Our space will not allow a detailed account of this day’s ceremonies, and we regret more than we can express that an unusually large amount of important local news compels us to condense our report on this subject into so small a space.
After the more immediate service of consecration was performed, the usual morning service was commenced, …
The following, more comprehensive, report, poetically describes how Churches link the past to the present, and the present to the future,
Consecration of the Church of St. Thomas, January 1857
Isle of Wight Mercury - Saturday 24 January 1857
CONSECRATION THE CHURCH OF ST. THOMAS.
At an early hour, on Tuesday, January 20th, 1857, the streets of Newport were alive with eager faces; though, verily, “the dawn was overcast,”- and the rain descended in such torrents as might well have discouraged the good citzens of that “anciente towne” from venturing out to behold any spectacle less interesting than that which had called them forth. Ever memorable in its annals will be the said 20th of January. For the Consecration of a new Church is at all times an event of interest and significancy. As our Bridges and Railroads, our Hospitals, and Colleges, are the Landmarks of the moral and social progress of the Nation, so our Churches aree the Landmarks of its Religious History. The quaint, gray tower— the slender spire, are the characters by which a Christian people record their faith. And as the one rises above the leafiness of some quiet village, or the other soars above the busy streets of a crowded city, they become to the historian and the poet the materials which excite their research or stimulate their imagination. They link the Present with the past : they unite, by the eternal sympathy of a common faith, the worshippers of every age. Years move on: every annual revolution marking some change in the social life, the thoughts, and the desires of the masses: but Christianity, save in its external conditions., remains unaltered , and unalterable,— symbolized to every heart by the consecrated stones piled up by the men of the Past for the men of Today, or by the men of the Present for the men of the Future.
The Consecration of the Church of St. Thomas had, however, a peculiar interest. The gracefiul edifice which now does honour to the liberal feelings and artistic sympathies of the Isle of Wight, stands on the site of a venerable sanctuary hallowed by a thousand historical associations. The memory of a maiden scion of the illustrious, but ill-fated race of Stuart, rendered the old Church famous; the fine sympathy with misfortune and the discriminating love of Art which endear to all English hearts the name of Victoria— are indissolubly connected with the new Church of St. Thomas. This, while the Church of the Past shrined in its precincts the remains of the daughter of the Stuarts; the Church of the Present is adorned with her monument, raised to her by the best and brightest of the House of Brunswick, and the names of the Queen and the Captive shall be for ever associated with it.
It is not a matter of wonder, therefore, that the eyes of all true Christians, and those especially who recognise the dignity of Artwhen illustrating Religion, should have sedulously watched the progress of the building, as..
“strong and sure,
With a firm and ample base,”…
it has gradually sprung upward, stone on stone, pillar after pillar, until in all its beautiful proportions it attests the genius of the Architect, and the loving faith of those who aided the noble work. No matter of wonder is it that it should have been thronghed with earnest worshippers when first the Word of God was preached within its walls. No matter for wonder is it that the solemn ceremony which is the corona operis— the crowning, as it were, of the work— the significant rite which proclaims to the world that, henceforth and for ever, these stones — this earth on which they are upgathered— this manifestation of Art hallowed by Devotion and encouraged by Benevolence— is dedicated unto God,—no matter for wonder is it, that is was witnessed by eager and by reverent thousands. And memorable, therefore, in the Annals of Newport will be to many a noble mind and pious heart that day on which the New Church of St. Thomas was solemnly consecrated to Religion.
The doors were opened at 10 o’clock,— the Service commeced at half-past 10. The Clergy assembled at the residence of the Incumbent of St. Thomas’,— the Rev. G. H. Connor, M.A., and accompanied him to Church. We believe the following is an accurate list of those who were present:—
Rev. J. B. Atkinson, Cowes.
Rev. T. Adkins, Southampton.
Rev. Canon Blackburn, Yarmouth.
Rev. E. D. Buttermer, Easton.
Rev. E. Carr. Bonchurch.
Rev. T. Cottle, Shalfleet.
Rev. R. Dixon, Niton.
Rev. —— Eiger, St. James’, Newport.
Rev. H. Ewbank, St. James’. Ryde.
Rev. M. Geneste, West Cowes.
Rev. Pellew Gaze, Brook.
Rev. C. J. Garrard, St. John’s, Ryde.
Rev. D. I. Heath. Brading.
Rev. E. V. Hennah, East Cowes.
Rev. P. Hewett, Binstead.
Rev. A. Hoare. Calbourne.
Rev. —— Hodges.
Rev. B. Isaacson, Freshwater.
Rev. C. Livingstone, St. Lawrence.
Rev. E. McAll, Rural Dean, Brighstone.
Rev. J. Le Mesurier, Bembridge.
Rev. H. Morris, St. Thomas’s, Ryde.
Rev. H. Haddock.
Rev. J. Marland, Ventnor.
Rev. G. Prothero, Whippingham.
Rev. T. Ratcliffe, Godshill.
Rev. T. Renwick, Shorwell.
Rev. —— Spear.
Rev. W. L. Sharpe, Barton Village.
Rev. G. Southouse, Shanklin.
Rev. S. Beaman, Northwood.
Rev. W. Thomas, Sandown.
Rev. C. W. Wilson, West Cowes.
Rev. Carus Wilson.
Rev. A. J. Wade, Holy Trinity, Ryde.
Rev. —— Wilkinson.
Rev. E. Venables.
The Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of Winchester was received at the door of the Church by the Worshipful the Chancellor of the Diocese; the Rural Dean, (Rev. E. McAll); the Vicar of Carisbrooke, (Rev. E. D. scott); by the Minister and Curate of St. Thomas’, the Clergy, Churchwardens, &c.
At this moment, the spectacle was one peculliarly interesting. The crowded Church, the clergy in their robes, the solemn strains of the organ, the dimly-lighted interior, offered points worthy of a poet’s skill.
The procession having advanced up the central aisle, the Bishop seated himself on the right side of the altar, his Chaplain on the left. HE then said: “I am ready to consecrate thei Church according to the form of the English Church.” The ceremonials prescribed for such an occasion were duly observed. It is obvious that it would be impossible in our columns to give them in detail. The Registrar having read the Petition of the Inhabitants for the Consecration of the Church, the Bishop said,—“You will registeer thissentence, and preserve it in the Registry.”
The Morning Service was then read most impressively by the Rev. G. H. Connor, M.A., and the Lessons by the Rev. E. D. Scott. M.A.. Vicar of Carisbrooke.
The Sermon
The sermon preached at the consecration service can be found in the Isle of Wight Mercury, dated Saturday 24 January 1857