Page:A History of Horncastle from the Earliest Period to the Present Time.djvu/75

56 Alms basin, silver, 6 oz. 6 dwt., given by Thomas Hargreaves, Esq., 1735. T.M.H. on handle. Alms Basin, silver, 7 oz. 6 dwt., given by Clement Madely, vicar, 1835. Paten, silver gilt, 13 oz. In Memoriam, J.H. 1879. Paten, silver. 4 oz. 2 dwt., no date.o Cruet with silver stopper, H.T.C. 1872. Those marked with asterisk are used at Holy Trinity Church.

We cannot here omit our tribute to the energy, liberality, and taste of the various parties connected with the restoration of St. Mary's Church, begun in 1859, and happily completed in April, 1861. With a persevering vicar, in Prebendary W. H. Milner, undaunted by difficulties, to head the movement; a working committee, no less resolute, to support him (among whom figured foremost the late Dr. J. B. Boulton and Mr. F. Harwood); with an architect of cultivated taste and wide experience, in Mr. Ewan Christian; and with the able contractors, Messrs. Lee & Ashton, to carry out his designs; and with a body of subscribers, headed by the Lord of the Manor, J. Banks Stanhope, Esq., all doing their best; the work was bound to be a marked success, of which all might be proud. St Mary's now probably approaches nearer to its original conception (if it does not, indeed, surpass it) than it has ever done in recent times. Erected, as it first was, in an age marked by "zeal" for church construction, even if sometimes "without knowledge;" stimulated, perhaps in an unwholesome degree, by the prevalent superstition and mariolatry, we yet feel bound, considering the noble structures which those builders have transmitted to us, (as Prior the poet says) to be "To their virtues very kind, and to their faults a little blind." But, as to the restoration in the present instance, few, save the older ones among us, who remember the condition into which the fabric had lapsed, can realise the great changes which were effected, or the advantages secured to present worshippers. The space formerly wasted by a western vestibule, with its boarded partition, and baize-covered doors, leading into nave and aisles, reducing by several feet the length of sitting space; the basement of the tower shut off, and occupied only by the bell ringers, who are now removed to the chamber above; the chancel aisles unused for seats and partially blocked up; the high square pews, rising in tiers westwards, roomy enough for undisturbed slumber; above all, the heavy galleries, with pews, made by faculty private property; all these arrangements so curtailed the accommodation, that the congregation, at its best, could be little more than half what it has been in recent years; while the tout ensemble, not omitting the flat whitewashed ceiling, put up, it has been said, by a kind lady, because the vicar, sensitive to cold, felt the draughts through the fine wooden roof thus hidden above, had an effect the very opposite of stimulating devotion, bad alike for minister and people. Under the restored condition, with sixty additional seats provided in the tower, the south chancel aisle also seated, and every available space utilized, there is now ample accommodation for some 800 worshippers, and on special occasions more than 1,200 have been seated (the late Mr. W. Pacy counted about 1,250 passing out at the evening service at the re-opening in April, 1861); while the services, and the surroundings, are alike calculated to inspire feelings of reverence, with hearty earnestness of worship; this is the result mainly due to the "decency and order" effected through the care and self-denying efforts of the restorers, for which all should be grateful.

We should here add that in the year 1892, it being found that decay had occurred in the walls and other parts of the church, about £150 was raised by subscription, and once more the fabric was put into a complete state of repair.