Commissioners' church: Difference between revisions

A '''Commissioners' church''', also known as a '''Waterloo church''' and '''Million Act church''', is an [[Anglicanism|Anglican]] church in theEngland Unitedor KingdomWales built with money voted by [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|Parliament]] as a result of the [[{{visible anchor|Church Building Act 1818}} ([[58 Geo. 3]]s. ofc. 181845) and the {{visible anchor|Church Building Act 1824}} ([[5 Geo. 4]]. c. 103). The 1818 Actact supplied a grant of money and established the Church Building Commission to direct its use, and in 1824 made a further grant of money. In addition to paying for the building of churches, the Commission had powers to divide and subdivide [[parish]]es, and to provide [[Financial endowment|endowments]]. The Commission continued to function as a separate body until the end of 1856, when it was absorbed into the [[Ecclesiastical Commissioners|Ecclesiastical Commission]]. In some cases the Commissioners provided the full cost of the new church; in other cases they provided a partial grant and the balance was raised locally. In total 612 new churches were provided, mainly in expanding industrial towns and cities.

The First Parliamentary Grant for churches amounted to £1 million (equivalent to £{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|1000000|1818|r=-4}}}} in {{Inflation-year|UK}}),{{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}} which is why the 1818 Actact that provided for it is sometimes referred to in scholarly literature as the '''Million Pound Act'''.

Towards the end of the 18th&nbsp;century the Church of England was facing a number of problems and challenges. Due to factors including the [[Industrial Revolution]], the population of Britain had grown, and it had redistributed, tending to concentrate in urban centres,: some older and expanded, others newly created. Meanwhile, the organisation of the Church of England had not been modified to reflect this change, leading to a mismatch between the population and the pastoral services provided by the church.<ref>{{Harvnb|Parsons|1988|p=18.}}</ref> For example, [[Stockport]] with a population of nearly 34,000 had church seating for only 2,500, [[Sheffield]] had 6,280&nbsp;seats for 55,000 people, [[Manchester]] had 11,000&nbsp;for nearly 80,000, and the [[St Marylebone (parish)|St&nbsp;Marylebone]] district of London had only 8,700&nbsp;places for 76,624 inhabitants.<ref>{{Harvnb|Port|2006|p=22.}}</ref> In addition, there was a concern in society that, following the [[French Revolution]] of 1789–99, there might be a similar uprising in Britain. It was considered that "the influence of the Church and its religious and moral teaching was a bulwark against revolution".<ref>{{Harvnb|Port|2006|p=15.}}</ref> Some argued that a major function of the church was to complement the work of the state; that "the church's main function was social control".<ref>Best, W. quoted in {{Harvnb|Port|2006|p=16.}}</ref> On top of this, the Church of England had its own internal problems, some of them even amounting to abuses, such as pluralism ([[Vicar#Anglicanism|vicars]] owning more than one [[benefice]]), absenteeism (vicars employing [[curate]]s to run their parishes) and non-residence. There was a great disparity between the incomes of the parochial clergy. The educational level of the clergy and their training was often inadequate.<ref>{{Harvnb|Parsons|1988|pp=18–19.}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Port|2006|pp=16–17, 22–23.}}</ref> Challenges to the church came from main two main sources, [[dissenter|dissent]] and [[secularism]]. Dissenters were those Christians who did not ascribe to the practices of the [[State religion|established church]] (the Church of England), and they included the older [[Free church|independent churches]] such as the [[Religious Society of Friends|Quakers]], [[Baptists]] and [[Congregational church|Congregationalists]], and the newer movement of [[Methodism]]. The rise of these movements was blamed partly on the lack of accommodation in the churches provided by the state church.<ref>{{Harvnb|Port|2006|pp=17–18, 24.}}</ref>

During the early 1810s groups were formed to address these problems by both active parties in the Church of England, the [[Evangelicalism|Evangelicals]] and the [[High Church]]men.<ref>{{Harvnb|Port|2006|pp=18–19.}}</ref> [[Joshua Watson]], a [[Laity|layman]], was a prominent member of the High Church group; he has been described as "the greatest lay churchman of his day" and was to become "the cornerstone of the [Church Building] Commission", on which he served for 33&nbsp;years.<ref>{{Harvnb|Port|2006|p=19.}}</ref> Because of the legal structure of the Church of England, it was "almost indispensable to obtain an Act of Parliament before a church was rebuilt, or a new one built&nbsp;" and "to divide a parish an Act was essential".<ref>{{Harvnb|Port|2006|p=23.}}</ref> There was growing pressure for Parliament to meet the problems. Following the defeat of Napoleon in 1815 there was also a movement to build churches "as a "national thank-offering".<ref>{{Harvnb|Port|2006|pp=24–25.}}</ref> In December 1815 Joshua Watson and the [[pamphleteer]] [[John Bowdler]], wrote a "memorial" to the [[prime minister]], [[Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool|Lord Liverpool]], arguing the case for more churches.<ref>{{Harvnb|Port|2006|p=25.}}</ref> There was initial reluctance from the politicians to agree to the proposal, partly because of the financial deficit following the [[Napoleonic Wars]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Port|2006|p=27.}}</ref> In 1817 a committee was appointed to form a society for "promoting public worship by obtaining additional church-room for the middle and lower classes".<ref>{{Harvnb|Port|2006|p=28.}}</ref> This was successful and at a public meeting on 6&nbsp;February 1818 in the [[Freemasons' Hall, London]], chaired by [[Charles Manners-Sutton]], the [[Archbishop of Canterbury]], the [[Hugh Percy, 3rd Duke of Northumberland|Duke of Northumberland]] proposed a motion to form the Church Building Society, and this was accepted. This led to Parliament's agreement to provide the First Parliamentary Grant of £1&nbsp;million for building new churches.<ref>{{Harvnb|Port|2006|p=29.}}</ref> The Church Building Act 1818<ref>Act ([[58 Geo. 3]]. c. 45</ref>) was debated in Parliament and passed later that year.<ref>{{Harvnb|Port|2006|pp=37–43, 363.}}</ref>

==The Commissioncommission==

The first Commissioncommission consisted of 34&nbsp;members, both clergy and laity being represented.<ref>The clergy included the Archbishop of Canterbury, [[Edward Venables-Vernon-Harcourt|Edward Venables Vernon]], [[Archbishop of York]], [[William Howley]], then [[Bishop of London]] and later Archbishop of Canterbury, [[James Cornwallis, 4th Earl Cornwallis|James Cornwallis]], [[Bishop of Lichfield|Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry]], [[Brownlow North]], [[Bishop of Winchester]], [[George Pretyman Tomline]], [[Bishop of Lincoln]], [[George Henry Law]], [[Bishop of Chester]], [[John Ireland (Dean of Westminster)|John Ireland]], [[Dean (Christianity)|Dean]] of [[Westminster Abbey|Westminster]], [[Richard Mant]], [[Rector (ecclesiastical)#Anglican churches|rector]] of [[St Botolph-without-Bishopsgate]], Francis John Hyde Wollaston, [[Canon (priest)|Canon]] of [[St Paul's Cathedral]], [[Joseph Holden Pott]], rector of [[St Martin-in-the-Fields]], [[Thomas Dunham Whitaker]], Vicar of [[Whalley, Lancashire|Whalley]] and [[Blackburn]], and [[Christopher Wordsworth (Trinity)|Christopher Wordsworth]], rector of [[Lambeth]]. The lay members included Joshua Watson, [[Nicholas Vansittart, 1st Baron Bexley|Nicholas Vansittart]], [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]], [[Dudley Ryder, 1st Earl of Harrowby|Lord Harrowby]], [[Lord President of the Council]], [[Sir John Nicholl]], and [[William Scott, 1st Baron Stowell|William Scott]] (the last two were lawyers).</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Port|2006|pp=30–35.}}</ref> In addition to providing grants of money, the Commissioncommission had powers to divide and subdivide parishes and to provide endowments.<ref name=port12/>

The Commission appointed George Jenner as its secretary, and then had to decide how to apportion its funds. It set its maximum sum for a grant at £20,000 (equivalent to £{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|20000|1818|r=-4}}}} in {{Inflation-year|UK}}){{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}} each, but this would have built only 50&nbsp;churches. A degree of economy was necessary, but it was considered that the churches should be recognisable as those of the Church of England, with a tower and even a spire. [[Thomas Rickman]] was appointed to prepare plans in the [[diocese of Chester]]. Applicants for grants had to abide by rules drawn up by the Commissioncommission. The designs for the churches were to be decided by competition, but the churches had to be soundly built.<ref>{{Harvnb|Port|2006|pp=45–51.}}</ref> In some cases the Commissioncommission provided the whole cost of the building. On occasions this exceeded the cost of the building and also included the cost of the site and legal charges. Often the grant was less than the cost of the building, the difference being met by private donations and public subscription. In no case was the recommended ceiling of £20,000 exceeded. The highest grant was of £19,948 for St&nbsp;Martin's Church in [[Liverpool]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Port|2006|pp=325–329.}}</ref> Designs for churches funded in the first grant in London were mainly classical in style; but outside London most Commissionerscommissioners' churches conformed to a characteristic [[Georgian architecture|late Georgian]] [[Gothic revival]] style, with little concern for accurate reproduction of medieval Gothic features. It was common for architects to re-use designs on a number of sites; perhaps varying the window tracery to conform with one or another different period of English Gothic architecture. A few architects - notably [[Thomas Rickman]], [[Francis Goodwin (architect)|Frances Goodwin]] and [[Robert Smirke (architect)|Robert Smirke]] won a large number of commissions.

Plans of churches to be funded had to be approved by the Commissioncommission; and their stipulations conformed to the '[[High Church]]' principles of the day, representing a decisive moving away from the 'preaching box' principles that had governed much [[Georgian era|Georgian]] church and chapel architecture. The Commissioncommission were determined the new churches should instead give appropriate architectural expression to the rites of [[Holy Communion]] and [[Baptism]]; and that these [[sacrament]]s should not be visually subordinated to [[pulpit]] preaching. Hence, the Commissioncommission insisted that the [[communion table]] should be set apart in a shallow eastern apse or sanctuary behind a communion rail; and raised on three steps so as to be visible from all seats in the church. Larger churches should have galleries along the sides and west end, to provide the required seating capacity; the largest Commissioners Churches could seat a nominal congregation of 2,000. Except in the side galleries, all seats should face (ritual) east. The [[baptismal font]] should be at the west end of the church, accommodated within a christening pew. The [[pulpit]] and parson's reading desk were normally to be set at the east end of the church, on either side of the sanctuary. The Commissioncommission would not approve plans where services were to be led by parson and parish clerk from a centrally located triple-decker pulpit, although a number of incumbents subsequently arranged for the pulpit to be moved into the central aisle, with or without the approval of the Commissioncommission. [[Pews]] in the body of the nave were expected to be subject to [[pew#pew rents|pew rents]] but the Commissioncommission insisted that a substantial proportion of seating, in the galleries and on benches in the aisles, should be free. Nevertheless within two decades, these design principles had been overtaken by the widespread adoption of 'ecclesiological' ideals in church design, as promoted by the [[Cambridge Camden Society]]; so that mid-Victorian High Churchmen routinely deprecated the original liturgical arrangements of Commissioners Churches, commonly seeking to rearrange their eastern bays with a ritual choir and [[chancel]] on ecclesiological principles.

By February 1821, 85&nbsp;churches had been provided with seating for 144,190. But only £88,000 (equivalent to £{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|88000|1821|r=-4}}}} in {{Inflation-year|UK}}){{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}} of the original £1&nbsp;million remained. Applications for 25&nbsp;more churches had to be postponed and it was clear that more money would be needed from Parliament.<ref>{{Harvnb|Port|2006|p=54.}}</ref> Fortuitously in 1824 the Austrian government repaid a £2 million war loan that the British Treasury had written-off within the national accounts, creating an unexpected windfall that could be applied for the purpose. This led to the Church Building Act&nbsp;1824<ref>Act ([[5 Geo. 4]]. c. 103</ref>) that provided the Second Parliamentary Grant of £500,000 (equivalent to £{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|500000|1824|r=-4}}}} in {{Inflation-year|UK}}).<ref>{{Harvnb|Port|2006|pp=227–229.}}</ref> This money was distributed much more widely and, on the whole the grants supported a smaller proportion of total building costs. The First Parliamentary Grant was shared between fewer than 100&nbsp;churches;<ref>{{Harvnb|Port|2006|pp=326–329.}}</ref> the Second Parliamentary Grant went to more than 500&nbsp;churches. The highest grant in this second phase was of £10,686 to All Saints Church, Skinner Street in the City of London, but this was exceptional. Most second-phase grants were between £100 and £1,000; on some occasions the grant was a mere £5.<ref>{{Harvnb|Port|2006|pp=331–347.}}</ref> The Church Building Commission continued to function until 1&nbsp;January 1857, when it was absorbed into the [[Ecclesiastical Commissioners|Ecclesiastical Commission]].<ref name=port12>{{Harvnb|Port|2006|p=12.}}</ref>

* [[Victorian restoration]]