Main Worship Area
We now enter the main worship area though the double doors (14). If you walk round to the right, you come upon tall wooden double doors. The outside redesigned South door is now the entrance for funerals, and is also sometimes beautifully decorated with a flower covered arch for weddings. (15). The baptistery area was added in 1897 in memory of John Strettall Seddon, by his widow. There are a set of 3 lights depicting the finding of Moses, St Timothy and the child Samuel. (16) The middle window reads at the bottom “A gift to God and this baptistery 1897”. The baptistery area is divided from the chapel by a low wall on which there are a double row of three arches with slender alabaster pillars (17). Any visitors entering via the Baptistery door may well wonder where the font is. It was moved during the reordering to its present position in the South Chancel, perhaps because the original position was a rather draughty, and perhaps in Winter, a rather icy spot to hold a baptism!
Please scroll down the page to learn about the Church Chapel
14 Worship Area
15 Baptistery door
16 Baptistery
17 Alabaster pillars
The Chapel
The South transept was converted into a chapel in 1939 and is dedicated to the Holy Spirit (18). It was provided and furnished by gifts of the congregation to commemorate the Jubilee of the consecration of the church. It was designed by Mr A Crampton and the beautiful oak work all carried out by a member of the congregation, Mr Robert Rimmer. There are several items in the chapel donated by various members of the then congregation; the oak lectern given by a family in memory of the Reverend George Hamer, curate here from 1920-24 , the Holy Table the gift of Miss Bradburn (daughter of the first churchwarden), the altar rails by Mr A Morris, the People’s Warden and the silver cross by anonymous donation. The chapel also nowadays houses the Bishop’s prayer desk, the gift of the third Vicar of St Philip’s, Henry Lionel Gibbs, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of his ordination. It used to be in the Sanctuary next to the Bishop’s Throne but is now used for leading worship in the chapel. There are two stained glass windows in the chapel; the right hand one (19) depicts the events of Easter morning, given in memory of Mary Jane Stringer by her husband Henry is made up of four lights. The two left-hand lights depict the events of Easter morning when the women came to the tomb, and the right hand two, the later visit of Peter and John who also found the tomb to be empty. The other four light window (20) in the chapel depicts Jesus blessing the children, the Good Shepherd, The Sower, and The Angel Reapers, and is dedicated “To the glory of God, and in loving memory of Thomas Smalley Bellis, born April 7th 1896, died January 6th 1911. Erected by his mother Florence Bellis”. It was a joy to rededicate this window in January 2012, with members of Thomas’ family present.
18 Chapel
19 Chapel Resurrection window
20 Bellis window