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Article THE CHURCHES OF WORCESTER ← Page 3 of 4 →
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The Churches Of Worcester
many disorders he never before experienced , and to which he fell a victim , Jam 8 th , 1790 , aged 78 * " / St . Michael's church was rebuilt in the year 1842 , from the designs of the late Mr . Eginton , and is a far better example of a modern church than those before described , though it presents too much the appearance of being a reduced copy of * a much larger edifice . The architect seems to have been afraid to show his roofs , and so put a panelled plaster ceiling over the nave , and flat ones over the aisles . The old church of St . Michael stood near the
north-east angle of the cathedral , the east wall of the ancient elocherium or bell-tower of the cathedral forming the west wall of the church . Having considered the architectural features of the churches , the learned and able writer went on to offer a few remarks on their arrangement , and the accommodation which they afford dor the attendance of the poorer classes at Divine service . It was now generally acknowledged , he said , that the chancel is the only proper position for the choir , and that where there is no constructional chancel , one should be formed for this purpose at the east end of the nav ^ e . Churches erected before the reviv al of correct
principles of arrangement require just the same treatment as the heathen basilicas of ancient Rome did to adapt them to Christian worship . Four drily of the Worcester churches are properly arranged , and of these but two , viz ., St . Alban ' s and St . Martin ' s , are properly applied The organ is correctly placed at St . Andrew ' s ; but the choir do not occupy the chancel . At St . Helen ' s the organ and choir still remain in the west gallery , as they do likewise in all the other churches . This is a most objectionable arrangement , ¦
both on account of musical effect and ecclesiastical propriety for not only are the choir removed from under the eye of the clergyman , but the congregation are naturally led . to look upon them as placed merely to be listened to , instead of their leading the praises of the worshippers . But the worst arranged churches are those of St , Nicholas , St . George , and St . Clement , where the ground floors are blocked up with pews , galleries extend round three sides , and two equal pulpits stand on either side , at the east end .
This plan of twin pulpits also existed at St . Peter ' s and St . Helen ' s . If it is thought desirable that the prayers as well as the sermon should be preached from a pulpit , why should not one suffice , for what can be more absurd than for the officiating minister to descend from one rostrum and then immediately mount another , just like it , a few feet off ? One of the most important practical problems of the present day is to devise a remedy for the indifference to religion manifested by the working classes as a body , and their
habitual neglect of public worship . It becomes , therefore , a matter of much interest to inquire whether the churches of this city are rendered as available as they might be for the accommodation of the poor . In this respect , Mr . Walker considers they arc lamentably deficient , the areas of them being for the most part divided into close boxes , which are looked upon as private property , a right of exclusive occupation being assumed . Those who have most need of religious instruction arc consequently driven into passages
galleries , aisles , and other inferior positions , the natural result of which is they do not come to church at all . The . free scats in the churches of St . Svvithin , St . Nicholas , and AH Saints , arc confined to a fjew benches in the aisles . In St . John ' s , a few sittings in the gallery and in the transept are all that are available for , the poor . In St . Peter ' s and St . Martin ' s where
the seats arc all alike , the unappropriated ones are placed at the back , or in the aisles . The galleries of St . Clement ' s and St . George ' s are mostly free , and St . Paul's , built especially for the poorer class , has a large portion of its sittings free . But the aggregate number of unappropriated seats is very deficient compared with the population , or even with the pew acconnnoda-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Churches Of Worcester
many disorders he never before experienced , and to which he fell a victim , Jam 8 th , 1790 , aged 78 * " / St . Michael's church was rebuilt in the year 1842 , from the designs of the late Mr . Eginton , and is a far better example of a modern church than those before described , though it presents too much the appearance of being a reduced copy of * a much larger edifice . The architect seems to have been afraid to show his roofs , and so put a panelled plaster ceiling over the nave , and flat ones over the aisles . The old church of St . Michael stood near the
north-east angle of the cathedral , the east wall of the ancient elocherium or bell-tower of the cathedral forming the west wall of the church . Having considered the architectural features of the churches , the learned and able writer went on to offer a few remarks on their arrangement , and the accommodation which they afford dor the attendance of the poorer classes at Divine service . It was now generally acknowledged , he said , that the chancel is the only proper position for the choir , and that where there is no constructional chancel , one should be formed for this purpose at the east end of the nav ^ e . Churches erected before the reviv al of correct
principles of arrangement require just the same treatment as the heathen basilicas of ancient Rome did to adapt them to Christian worship . Four drily of the Worcester churches are properly arranged , and of these but two , viz ., St . Alban ' s and St . Martin ' s , are properly applied The organ is correctly placed at St . Andrew ' s ; but the choir do not occupy the chancel . At St . Helen ' s the organ and choir still remain in the west gallery , as they do likewise in all the other churches . This is a most objectionable arrangement , ¦
both on account of musical effect and ecclesiastical propriety for not only are the choir removed from under the eye of the clergyman , but the congregation are naturally led . to look upon them as placed merely to be listened to , instead of their leading the praises of the worshippers . But the worst arranged churches are those of St , Nicholas , St . George , and St . Clement , where the ground floors are blocked up with pews , galleries extend round three sides , and two equal pulpits stand on either side , at the east end .
This plan of twin pulpits also existed at St . Peter ' s and St . Helen ' s . If it is thought desirable that the prayers as well as the sermon should be preached from a pulpit , why should not one suffice , for what can be more absurd than for the officiating minister to descend from one rostrum and then immediately mount another , just like it , a few feet off ? One of the most important practical problems of the present day is to devise a remedy for the indifference to religion manifested by the working classes as a body , and their
habitual neglect of public worship . It becomes , therefore , a matter of much interest to inquire whether the churches of this city are rendered as available as they might be for the accommodation of the poor . In this respect , Mr . Walker considers they arc lamentably deficient , the areas of them being for the most part divided into close boxes , which are looked upon as private property , a right of exclusive occupation being assumed . Those who have most need of religious instruction arc consequently driven into passages
galleries , aisles , and other inferior positions , the natural result of which is they do not come to church at all . The . free scats in the churches of St . Svvithin , St . Nicholas , and AH Saints , arc confined to a fjew benches in the aisles . In St . John ' s , a few sittings in the gallery and in the transept are all that are available for , the poor . In St . Peter ' s and St . Martin ' s where
the seats arc all alike , the unappropriated ones are placed at the back , or in the aisles . The galleries of St . Clement ' s and St . George ' s are mostly free , and St . Paul's , built especially for the poorer class , has a large portion of its sittings free . But the aggregate number of unappropriated seats is very deficient compared with the population , or even with the pew acconnnoda-