A
meeting
was
held
on
l7th
October
1869
when
it
was
resolved
to
build
a
Chapel
of
Ease
at
Croxley
Green
and
to
make
application
for
a
site
to
the
Master
and
Fellows
of
Gonville
and
Caius
College,
Cambridge,
the
Lords
of
the
Manor.
Many
meetings
followed
and
eventually
it
was
agreed
to
build
a
church
at
the
south
end
of
the
Green.
The
Church
Commissioners
paid
the
sum
of
six
pounds
for
a
triangular
piece
of
land,
so
shaped
by
the
turnpike
road
from
Watford
to
Rickmansworth
and
the
road
to Sarratt.
Plans
of
the
Church
with
seating
for
260
were
prepared
by
Mr.
Norton
of
London:
They
were
approved
and
the
contract
for
the
building
was
given
to
Mr.
Samuel
Clarke
of
Bath
for
the
sum
of
£2,318.3 s.Od. No allowance for fencing the site or for heating the church was included.
The
district
(parish)
assigned
to
the
church,
considered
to
have
a
population
of
1000,
was
described
as
being
bounded
to
the
west
by
a
line
drawn
along
the
top
of
Scots
Hill
extending
towards
Chandlers
Cross,
then
to
the
River
Gad
(Gade)
following
the
same
stream
to
the
Lock
at
Cassio
and
back
to
the
starting point.
A
row
of
cottages
(Berean
Cottages)
stood
in
front
of
the
church:
it
was
contemplated
that
they
would
be
demolished,
but
in
fact
they
remained
for
some
time.
It
was
not
until
the
late
1920's
that
they
became vacant and were demolished, to be replaced by the Parish Hall, opened in November 1932.
The
foundation
stone
of
the
church
was
laid
by
the
Right
Hon.
Lord
Ebury
at
4pm
on
Tuesday,
September
27th,
1870.
For
the
ceremony
a
temporary
staging
was
provided
and
decorated
with
evergreens.
The
"West
Herts
and
Watford
Observer"
for
Saturday,
(October
1st,
1870
reports
as
follows:
"
Others
present
were
the
Hon
Miss
Grosvenor,
The
Earl
and
Countess
of
Essex,
The
Hon.
Mrs.
Wellesley,
W
.
Jones
Lloyd
and
Mrs
Lloyd,
H.
C
.
Finch
Esq,
T.H.Woods
Esq,
Colonel
Brooke,
W.Capel Esq, A.J.Copeland Esq, Dr Croft and many other Ladies and Gentlemen.
The
Rickmansworth
Choir
having
taken
their
places,
the
clergy
led
by
the
Revd.
A.H.Barker,
vicar
of
Rickmansworth
took
their
place
and
the
service
commenced
with
the
Hymn
"Lord
of
Hosts
to
Thee
we
raise
here
a
house
of
Prayer
and
Praise."
Prayers
followed
and
the
132nd
Psalm
was
chanted
by
the
Choir.
The
vicar
then
said
"The
Glorious
Majesty
of
the
Lord
be
upon
us,
Prosper
thou
the
work
of
our
hands".
Lord
Ebury,
then
advanced
to
lay
the
stone
and
was
presented
with
a
Silver
trowel
suitably
engraved.
He
then
gave
an
address
which
was
followed
by
the
hymn
'All
people
that
on
Earth
do
dwell".
A
collection
was
made
and
the
assembly
dismissed
with
a
Blessing.
The
collection
amounted
to £33, already subscribed is £2,200."
The
architecture
of
the
church
was
described
as
"
Early
English
or
First
pointed
Gothic."
The
nave
was
to
be
63
feet
long
and
25
feet
wide
and
40
feet
high:
the
chancel
30
feet
long
and
25
feet
wide.
A
small tower surmounted by a spire was to be 83 feet high.
The
consecration
of
the
church
took
place
on
June
25th
1872.
The
service
was
conducted
by
the
Bishop
of
Rochester,
Thomas
Legh
Claughton,
because
at
that
time
the
church
was
in
the
Diocese
of
Rochester.
(When
the
Diocese
of
St.
Albans
was
formed
in
1877,
Thomas
Legh
Claughton
was
appointed
the
First
Bishop
of
St.
Albans.)
So
many
clergy
attended
that
they
had
to
robe
in
a
cottage
opposite
the
church.
They
then
entered
the
church
and
the
processional
hymn
was
number
242
Ancient
&
Modern,
"O
word
of
God
above".
The
Bishop
gave
a
sermon.
The
hymn
"We
love
this
place"
was
sung.
A
collection
took
place
which
realised
£47.
14s
Od.
Afterwards
communion
was
celebrated,
the
service
being
led
by
the
Bishop.
The
Revd.
Astley
Roberts;
previously
Curate
of
St
Mary's, was appointed Vicar.
More
information
about
those
early
days
has
come
into
our
possession.
The
first
item
shows
that
a
Vestry
Committee
was
formed
and
the
first
meeting
took
place
on
April
l5th
1873.
It
continued
to
meet
annually, and still precedes our Annual General Meeting to this day.
For
34
years
this
building
served
the
village
well
but
with
the
growth
of
John
Dickinson's
paper
mill,
the
local
population
increased
and
the
church
became
very
crowded
and
uncomfortable.
On
September
l3th
1906,
the
vicar
and
churchwardens
called
for
a
meeting
which
took
place
on
September
20th
to
discuss
plans
for
enlarging
the
church.
The
vicar,
Revd.
C.E.Donnell
and
the
churchwardens
Mr.C.Barton-Smith,
Mr
E.Ormerod
and
some
50
members
of
the
congregation
agreed
to proceed.
Mr.Temple-Moor,
an
architect
from
London
was
asked
if
he
would
produce
a
design,
he
submitted
three
plans,
one
of
which
was
to
duplicate
the
present
church
on
the
south
side;
this
was
accepted
in
April
1907.
As
can
be
seen.
Each
half
is
on
a
different
level
-
unique,
but
over
the
years
it
has
caused
some
problems.
Costs
are
a
little
vague
but
would
appear
to
have
been
in
the
region
of
£3,000.
The
decision
seems
to
have
been
an
economic
one,
for
quite
obviously
the
parish
was
not
that
wealthy
and
to
raise
the
money
would
take
some
effort.
However,
after
the
contract
had
been
placed
in
August
1907
with
S.
Sherwin
builders,
Boston,
Lincolnshire
to
build
the
extension,
many
alterations
were
made to the specification and they were able to reduce the cost to £2,788.
An
appeal
for
money
had
been
launched
and
by
November
1907
the
firm
had
reached
£2,765.11s.1
ld.
Work
commenced
almost
immediately
and
whilst
work
was
underway,
services
were
held
in
the
Girls'
school
in
Yorke
Road.
The
new
nave
was
furnished
with
chairs
-
200
supplied
by
Messrs
James
Holland
of
High
Wycombe
at
3/IOd
each.
They
were
fitted
with
wooden
pegs
instead
of
hooks
as
hooks
were
liable
to
catch
the
dresses
of
the
ladies.
The
final
cost
would
appear
to
have
been
approximately
£3,198.
The
new
nave
and
chancel
were
consecrated
on
Saturday,
May
23rd
1908,
by
the Right Revd. Frank Johnson, Bishop of Colchester.
The
then
vicar
Revd.
E.
Wells,
had
been
advised
by
the
Bishop
to
form
an
elected
Parochial
Church
Council.
A
meeting
took
place
on
June
25th,
1913,
and
it
was
agreed
that
steps
be
taken
to
put
this
in
motion.
The
first
meeting
took
place
on
June
25th
1914,
the
forty
second
anniversary
of
the
Church
and five years before it became a legal obligation.
Life
in
the
Parish
carried
on
through
the
First
World
War
and
the
list
of
those
who
had
fallen
began
to
grow.
The
War
finally
ended
in
November
1918.
The
life
of
the
church
continued
through
the
years
of
depression,
the
General
Strike,
the
Abdication,
Coronation
of
George
VI
until
World
War
Two.
Then
on
September
25th
1940
at
9.35pm
the
East
end
of
the
church
was
severely
damaged
by
a
parachute
mine;
the
tower,
roof,
organ,
pulpit
and
the
Lady
Chapel
all
suffered
serious
damage.
The
damage
was
estimated
at
£13,000
excluding
that
done
to
the
organ
and
boiler.
Temporary
repairs
took
nearly
a
year,
during
which
time
services
were
held
in
the
church
hall.
Because
of
constant
delays
in
obtaining
the
money
from
the
War
Damages
Commission,
it
was
nearly
the
end
of
1952
before
the
church
was
fully
restored
and
was
hallowed
by
the
Lord
Bishop
of
St
Albans
on
Sunday
January 18th 1953.
All Saints’ Church, The Green, Croxley Green, Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, WD3 3HJ