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St Swithun's Church, Kennington
A History
St Swithun
St Swithun's is dedicated to St Swithun.
Swithun was Bishop of Winchester in the ninth century, however he is now
best known for the popular British weather proverb that if it rains on
Saint Swithun's day, 15 July, it will rain for 40 days and 40 nights.
Swithun was buried outside at his request so the "sweet rain of heaven"
could fall on his grave. In 971 it was decided to move him into a new
indoor tomb, but it was said that the move was delayed by 40 days as a
result of torrential rain, supposedly indicating Swithun's displeasure
at the move. More information about him can be found on Wikipedia.
Up to 1958
We do not know when a chapel was first built in Kennington but there
was certainly one here in the 17th century. Its date of construction is
unknown but it could possibly have been a 15th or 16th century building
administered by monks of Abingdon Abbey. By the 17th century it had become
a chapel-of-ease to Sunningwell Church, the curate of which normally conducted
the services in Kennington, and it was dedicated to St. Swithun.
The building stood on the site of the present church hall and the diarist,
Thomas Hearne, described it in 1724 as a 'very small, mean building' which
'cannot, by the make of the building, be very ancient'. Whatever its age
its condition must, by then, have been deteriorating, through lack of
maintenance. By the middle of the 18th century it was probably nearing
its end and in 1783 the Rector of Sunningwell reported to the Bishop that
no trace of it remained. In 1828 a new church was built on the old site
by Henry Bowyer, rector of Sunningwell and brother of the Lord of the
Manor, Sir George Bowyer. The curate of Sunningwell was placed in charge
and its arrangement remained in being until 1866 when Kennington became
an ecclesiastical parish in its own right.
The 1828 building with seats for 80 people was large enough to cater
for a purely farming community but as Kennington began to grow in size
after the first war, the need for a larger church became obvious, but
it was not until after the second world war that it became possible to
start building it. Land next to the existing church had been donated for
the purpose in 1936 and 20 years later the foundation stone of the present
church was laid.
Building of the New Church 1958
In 1952 a new vicar The Rev Stuart Davies was appointed to Kennington,
who saw it as his mission to build a new church. By now the church electoral
role had risen to 238 and most people expected to be able to be married,
have their children baptised and be buried in the parish church. Clearly
there was an urgent need. Lawrence Dale a local architect was appointed
and produced draft plan in 1953.
Stuart Davies and the Parochial Church Council set about raising money
for the new building, which was estimated to cost about £12,000.
To put that into context, that was about 5 times the cost of a typical
new semi-detached house of the time. Stuart was innovative, in his fund
raising, and collected newspapers each Saturday morning from around the
village. He persuaded some of the youngsters to help him collect the papers
from doorsteps, loading them into his car, and then storing them up until
he had a lorry load, which then fetched good money. He was collecting
around £5 a week from Newspapers. The average wage was about £15
a week, so a worthwhile project.
Another church fund raising initiative to build new churches was set
up by the bishop, where he invited people to send a shilling (5 pence)
to a special fund which raised over £500 for St Swithun's. Another
very successful fundraiser was the weekly collection from supportive people
in the village, where they were visited each week and a collection made
for the new building appeal. Several people who both collected and gave
are still involved with St Swithun's today. After much deliberation, a
design was selected, the necessary permissions obtained and a contractor,
Messrs Hutchins and Green of Oxford were employed to build the new church.
Their estimate was £13,000. There were also furnishing costs to
be added.
 The
Rt Rev Eric Knell Bishop of Reading consecrated the ground and dug the
first turf at a service in late July 1956. He wrote in the diocesan magazine,
"I ceremonially cut the first piece of turf in the course of
a service of thanksgiving and prayer for God's blessing upon the
undertaking which has now begun. Incidentally, the spade turned up a potato
which first fruits may be taken as a happy augury of what lies before
the parish once it's fine new church is in being."
The Rt Rev Harry Carpenter Bishop of Oxford laid the foundation stone
on 15th September 1956, which was the thousandth anniversary of the village.
Lawrence Dale, the architect, describing the new church wrote:
"As architecture the new church at Kennington picks up the tradition
at Regency, when tradition was broken up by the Gothic revival, its nearest
affinity in both character and locality being in the village of Chiselhampton,
1763. But this only applies to its rarified classical architectural treatment
characteristic of the period. By the Regency, the emphasis in planning
had gone from the altar to the pulpit and the lectern, these often large,
and on occasion obscuring the altar. At Kennington the altar is central,
in the midst of them".
The Rt Rev Harry Carpenter came back to the church on 5th February 1958
to consecrate the building. I as a small boy recall his banging on the
door to be let in, rather like Black Rod at the Houses of Parliament,
before the service could begin. The church was packed full, with the seats
squashed together to get as many people in as possible.
John Betjeman considered the church important enough to give a full article
in a national newspaper in July 1958 in which he said: There are currently
three types of church being built, one with a conventional chancel where
the priest and congregation are separated by the choir, secondly, a dual
purpose building which can be used as a hall during the week and a church
when required. The third type has an altar in the middle of the congregation,
so that as many people as possible can see and hear what is going on there.
In a new community where so many people do not know about the sacraments
of the church and how they are administered, the parish priest needs to
rivet attention by his actions.
Our greatest living architect, Sir Ninian Comper, once said that a church
should be planned from the altar outwards. His plan has been taken a step
further by Lawrence Dale at St Swithun’s Kennington. The altar stands
in the middle of the new church under a canopy. The candlesticks are low,
so as to not obscure the actions of the priest from any side.
1952 - Present
 1952
-1965 Stuart Simeon Davies
came to Kennington because he believed that God wanted him to build a
new church. The Rev Davies was also a keen scout, devoting considerable
amounts of his time to the scouting movement. He was also an advanced
motorist and enjoyed the thrill of driving fast. His family were undertakers,
and he was once stopped by the police at 90 mph in a hearse. History doesn't
relate whether it was on a job, or just being used by the family.
1965 - 1979 Harold Archibald Timson Bennett.
HAT as Rev Bennett was affectionately known, started his ministry by visiting
every house in the village, and continued to visit new residents when
ever he was aware of someone moving in, and regularly visited the sick,
whether they were from his ‘flock’ or not. HAT was blessed
with four daughters and came here as a real family man, his youngest daughter
attending the village school. He was a keen walker, and so met lots of
people as he walked around the village promoting the village and St Swithun’s
in particular.
 1979
- 1984 John Michael Loveland and his wife were
musical, and made music a major theme of their ministry. They instigated
concerts in Church and held events in the vicarage, both inside and in
the garden, opening up the vicarage to the village. There was always
a cup of tea and a shoulder to share a problem. It was during John’s
ministry that the new organ was installed replacing an early and rather
unreliable electronic organ, which had been given when the organ from
the old church had failed to be satisfactory, following it's move from
the old church.
 1984
- 1998 Harry Bloomfield was a priest with definite
views, who expected everything to be done in the time honoured and traditional
way. It was Harry's initiative which started the Kennington Chronicle
as a free magazine delivered to each home in the parish. His personal
interest was in antiques of which he was very knowledgeable, and collected
avidly, amassing a fine collection of porcelain. He gave talks about antiques
to the various village organisations until poor health caused his early
retirement. He was also a good friend of John Betjeman, from his previous
position in Wantage.
 1999
- 2008 Terrence Smith followed a long interregnum, during which
the vicarage became unsuitable for use as a vicarage. For about three
years Terry lived in rented accommodation, until a new vicarage was built.
Terry had a vision for the parish, devoting considerable effort to a strategy
for growth. New forms of children's services are well attended, and his
ministry included a chaplaincy with Dalton Barracks besides work with
the fire service. Recent improvements have included new service and hymn
books, a sound system and church redecoration. He has also completed several
marathons, including the famed week long Marathon Des Sables, in the African
Desert. Terry raised nearly £30,000 for cancer patients and has
now retired to the South Coast.
2009 - After another lengthy interregnum Rev Pam McKellen
was licensed as Priest in Charge of the Joint Benefice of Kennington,
Radley and Sunningwell. She is assisted by Rev Em Coley, who lives in
the new vicarage in Kennington. For photos and contact details see the
Church Officials page.
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