September 1285-1538 A.D. Greyfriars Church, Reading, Berkshire, UK—Franciscan Conventual Turned Evangelical Anglican Parish
September
1285-1538 A.D. Greyfriars
Church, Reading, Berkshire, UK—Franciscan Conventual Turned Evangelical
Anglican Parish
Franciscan Friars Minor,
Conventual (under the Custody of Oxford)
transferred from former site (see immediately above) 1285-6 with permission of the abbot of Reading; church built 1311; dissolved 15 September 1538; used as hospital, a poorhouse then a town jail; converted back to a parish church
transferred from former site (see immediately above) 1285-6 with permission of the abbot of Reading; church built 1311; dissolved 15 September 1538; used as hospital, a poorhouse then a town jail; converted back to a parish church
Greyfriars Church, Reading
From Wikipedia, the
free encyclopedia
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(Greyfriars Church
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Greyfriars'
Church on Friar Street
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Greyfriars Church
Location
within Reading Town Centre
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Location
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Reading, Berkshire, England
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Website
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Architecture
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Heritage designation
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Administration
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Clergy
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Reverend Canon Jonathan Wilmot
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Greyfriars
Church is an evangelical Anglican church, and former Franciscan friary, in the town centre of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. The church forms part of the Church of England's Diocese of Oxford.
It is the oldest Franciscan
church still in use as a place of worship in the UK, and is said to be the most
complete surviving example of Franciscan architecture in England. As a
consequence, it has been listed as a Grade I listed building byEnglish Heritage.[2]
The church's motto is To know Christ and make Him known,
and this vision informs the activities of the church family. The vicar is
the Reverend Canon Jonathan Wilmot.
Contents
History
As a friary
The Franciscan order of friars first arrived in Reading in 1233 with the intention of creating a community to minister to the poor and the oppressed. This arrival was not welcomed by the established Reading Abbey, but the fact that the friars had royal patronage meant that Adam de Lathbury, the then abbot, was obliged to assist.[3]
Initially the friars were
granted a site alongside the road to Caversham Bridge,
and by 1259 had erected a friary there,
complete with church, chapter house, dormitory and refectory. However the site
proved prone to flooding, impeding the ability of the friars to undertake their
ministry. Eventually John Peckham, who was
both the Archbishop of Canterbury and a fellow Franciscan, intervened and by 1285 a
new site had been obtained at the west end of what is now Friar Street.[2][3]
The new friary on the new
site, that was eventually to become Greyfriars Church, was ready by 1311. The
friars were expelled in 1538 as part of King Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries.[2][4]
As a secular building
At the time of the
dissolution, the town of Reading was administered from a guild hall known
as the Yield Hall,
situated beside the River Kennet close
to today's Yield Hall Lane.
However by the middle of the 16th century this had proved too small. The mayor,
along with Thomas Vachell of Coley Park, petitioned
the king to grant the nave and aisles of the church for use as a town hall. In
1543, this petition was granted. The remainder of the church and friary,
together with the adjoining grounds, were sold to Robert Stanshawe, after whom
the nearby Stanshawe Road is named.[5]
However Greyfriars did not
prove a successful town hall, and some twenty years later the council created a
new town hall by inserting an upper floor into the refectory of the Hospitium of St John, the former hospitium of Reading Abbey. This was to
remain the site of Reading's civic administration, through the successive
re-buildings that eventually created today's Reading Town Hall,
until the move to Reading Civic Centre in the 1970s.[6][7][8]
Thereafter Greyfriars was used
successively as a hospital for
the poor (1578) and a house of correction for the punishment of idle or vagrant
people (1590).[6] In
the 18th century it became the town's jail.[citation needed] By the middle of the 19th century only the walls survived, and the derelict
structure was in danger of collapse.[9]
As a parish church
Greyfriars Church c. 1875 by Henry Taunt
The church was restored around 1863 by the then Reading Borough Surveyor, W H Woodman. The original building is constructed from squared
and knapped flints with
a stone plinth and buttresses. The tiled
roof sweeps down over aisles, and the church has a three bay nave. The large transept and
triple arched belfry were
added to the church by Woodman. The nave has segmental headed 3 light windows
of plain decorated style and an extremely fine west window of 5 lights, in a
decorated style withreticulated tracery.
The interior is spacious, with a crown post and wind brace roof
supported on original cruciform and quadriblobe shafts. The font and pulpit date
from the restoration.[2]
The Memorial Hall, a building
seating about fifty opens both to the north side of the Church and to Sackville
Street, was constructed in the early twentieth century. It can be divided into
three rooms.[4]
The Vicarage building was
re-built in 1961-62 with the outward appearance of the original Georgian town
house, but with a modern interior. It has now been purchased from the diocese,
together with its garden, by the congregation of Greyfriars to be used for the
mission of the church, initially as a Day Nursery.[4]
Attached to the main church
building is the West End, which was constructed in the 1970s to create an
entrance foyer and a semi-circular lounge with seating for 100-150. Moveable
screens allow for it to be divided into four smaller areas. There are also a
small kitchen and toilets. The Greyfriars Centre, adjacent to the Church, was
completed in 1983 and consists of a general purpose hall for sports and other
activities, a coffee lounge with kitchen, bookshop, two meeting rooms, the Church
office, toilets and showers.[4]
In 2000, the church's interior
was reordered and modernised. The Victorian pews
were replaced with movable seating to allow greater flexibility in the
building's use, such as the large dinners which launch the church's Alpha Courses. The pulpit
was moved to the rear of the nave. A baptistery was also installed, so that new
believers may be welcomed into the church family through adult baptism.
Previously, a mobile baptistery had to be hired when required.[4]
Greyfriars today
Discipleship
Sunday
The church family meets in the
building over the course of three services each Sunday. Each of these services
is based around an expository talk from the Bible, together with an opportunity
to respond to the talk and encourage one another through sung worship. The
afternoon service(4:30pm) tends to have a more contemplative, traditional
style, while the evening meeting (7pm) is more 'lively', both seeking to
glorify God in response to His word in their different ways.
Youth workThe morning service (starting at 10:30am) is attended by many families, and thus provides a creche, and a group called Trekkers for children aged 3 to 11, helping them to explore the Bible in small classes. 11- to 14-year-old children meet in a group called Pathfinders, also during the morning service. Older teenagers attend Crossroads before the evening service, and Open Space (a cell group that meets at New Hope Community Church) during the week. The creche and Trekkers are currently coordinated by children's worker Carol Atkins, and Pathfinders and Crossroads are organised by Youth Worker Heather Lewis.
Through the week
Many members of the church
family meet up during the week in Home Groups organised throughout Reading.
Meeting in smaller numbers allows people to encourage each other more
personally, through studying a passage from Bible and praying for one another,
as well as for wider issues.
Around 100 people in the 20s
and 30s age range are part of a group called Connect, which runs cell groups
similar to the Home Groups described above.
The church also runs a variety
of groups through the week, such as Time Out for women, a toddlers group,
Tuesday Special for people with learning difficulties, and Wednesday Welcome
for more mature folk.
Verse for the year
Each year the church
leadership decides on a verse for the year based on where they feel God is
leading the church in the coming year. The verse for 2014 is Matthew 22:37-39
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and
with all your mind ... and love your neighbour as yourself."
Evangelism[edit]
The Alpha Course
Greyfriars runs an annual Alpha Course to
allow people to explore the claims of Jesus for themselves in a non-threatening
environment.
The ten-week course runs each
Autumn, and is housed in the church. This allows for a large group of people to
gather together to hear the main presentation and then to discuss the content
in smaller groups.
In January and April Alpha
courses are begun in homes around Reading, which provide a more intimate
setting.
Outreach days
The church also hosts monthly
outreach days where anybody is welcome to come into the church building. These
provide an opportunity for church members to serve the local community, through
discussing their faith, praying, and providing a listening ear.
Prayer Café
The Prayer Café offers worship
through fellowship and prayer, and also functions as a refreshment café. It is
open late morning on the second Saturday of each month.
Prayer Stop
Prayer Stop, the smaller,
quieter sister of Prayer Café, was started to offer prayer for those working in
Reading during the week. It usually happens on the Friday after Prayer Café
every month and runs from 12.30 to 2.30pm. People are invited off the street to
receive prayer for whatever they are now going through, whether it's illness,
problems at home or unemployment. They are then given the option to have their
names and prayer request on a confidential list which is given to a team of
intercessors to pray about over the next two month.
See also
References
2.
^ Jump up to:a b c d "Images of England - Greyfriars
Church, Friar Street, Reading". English Heritage. Retrieved 2007-11-28.
3.
^ Jump up to:a b Phillips, Daphne (1980). The Story of Reading. Countryside
Books. p. 32. ISBN 0-905392-07-8.
4.
^ Jump up to:a b c d e "Greyfriars Church - History". Greyfriars
Church PCC. Retrieved 2007-11-28.
5.
Jump up^ Phillips, Daphne
(1980). The Story of Reading. Countryside
Books. p. 37. ISBN 0-905392-07-8.
6.
^ Jump up to:a b Phillips, Daphne (1980). The Story of Reading. Countryside
Books. p. 42. ISBN 0-905392-07-8.
7.
Jump up^ Phillips, Daphne
(1980). The Story of Reading. Countryside
Books. p. 88. ISBN 0-905392-07-8.
8.
Jump up^ Phillips, Daphne
(1980). The Story of Reading. Countryside
Books. pp. 168–9. ISBN 0-905392-07-8.
9.
Jump up^ Phillips, Daphne
(1980). The Story of Reading. Countryside
Books. p. 132. ISBN 0-905392-07-8.
External links
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