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Oxhey's Other Church Buildings |
Although no longer in the parish of St Matthew's, the chapel is the oldest religious building in Oxhey and there were probably some earlier monastic churches on the site. The first vicar of Oxhey, the Rev'd Newton Price, was once chaplain of the chapel, as was his main opponent in deciding whether Oxhey should be a separate parish, the Rev'd Richard Lee James, Vicar of St James, Watford.
Early History 1612-1852 In 1612, Sir James Altham built Oxhey Chapel, probably on the site of a monastic church, for use by his family and servants at Oxhey Place. Cromwell's troops desecrated the chapel in 1649, after the Battle of Uxbridge. They used it as a store and barracks, pulled off the roof lead to make musket balls and made a door in the east wall.
When Sir John Bucknall became new owner of the house in 1688 he bricked up the east door and installed the reredos at the east end, reusing woodwork from the great house, which he rebuilt. A bell-cote and a hipped and tiled roof were added in 1704. In 1712, the interior was restored and the reredos was whitewashed to make the interior brighter.
In 1852, Thomas Grimston Bucknall restored the chapel for use by worshippers from the nearby small hamlet. He arranged for the removal of the old pews and pulpit and had the reredos cleaned of its whitewash coating.
The Exterior The outside walls are made of alternate squares of brick and knapped flint. There is no churchyard, because the chapel has never been a parish church, but at the west end is a paved enclosure in which are two graves: Thomas Anthony Blackwell (1942) and a double grave for Samuel Judd (1944) with his wife Frances (1946) - two well-respected estate workers.
The Interior Inside, the main architectural feature is the roof with its moulded tie beams. The most important furnishing is a late seventeenth century reredos, with twisted columns supporting a broken pediment. The original Jacobean communion rails are now back in place. Along with the communion table, these were removed in 1898, with permission, to St Matthew's for use in the Lady Chapel. St Matthew's still has the table. The most important monument is to Sir James Altham (1616) and his wife Helen (1638). Their two kneeling effigies are facing each other in prayer, dressed in clothing of the period.
The Blackwell's Changes & The 1960s Restoration The building reached its present form in 1897, when the vestries were built and the pews were arranged in collegiate fashion; work paid for by Thomas Blackwell, of Cross & Blackwell the food manufacturers, who then lived at Oxhey Place. By 1962 the chapel was in bad repair and in the severe winter of 1962/3 part of the roof fell in. An appeal raised £6,000 and extensive work was carried out including the complete replacement of the roof tiles. The original tiles were sold to the late violinist, Yehudi Menuhin and were reused at his house in Hampstead. The replacement bell-cote also dates from this restoration.
The Churches Conservation Trust. Although the chapel came back into use, the parish decided that it was no longer essential and in 1977 it was put in the care of the Trust. Formerly known as the Redundant Churches Fund, the Trust cares for more than 300 churches, maintaining them for present and future generations. The chapel remains consecrated.
The first vicarage for St Matthew's was an early nineteenth century house in Chalk Hill. Sometime afterwards, a Victorian vicarage was built behind the church, and was further enlarged by the Rev'd Richard Parsons (1927-1936). Over the years, the vicarage became more and more outdated and expensive to run. By 1962, the new vicar, the Rev'd William Peverley (1962-1976), refused to come to the parish until it had been modernised and split into two homes. However, it was still unsatisfactory and his successor, Canon Peter Palmer, had it demolished in 1979. The site was redeveloped to include a modern vicarage, together with some private housing.
Originally there was no church hall. A fact much lamented by the first incumbent, the Rev'd Newton Price (1880-1907), who firmly believed that it was wrong to use the church for anything other than worship. He asserted that it was impossible to hold meetings, but his parishioners had other priorities. In 1887 they voted to spend money on a peal of bells rather than on a new church hall.
C E Keyser decided to do something about the lack of meeting space. He lived at Merry Hill House and was a Churchwarden of St James, Bushey and a Guardian of the Poor. In November 1893, he bought and old stable in Lower Paddock Road and transformed it into a Parish Room.
In 1909 a new hall was built in the Pinner Road, paid for by Mr Walter Blackwell in memory of his father. Under the Rev'd William Peverley (1962-1976), this hall was sold to the Round Table organisation for use by the mentally handicapped. The present hall was built on land behind the church.
In the 1930s, the Rev'd Richard Parsons (1927-1936) launched the Forward Movement Fund to provide a church and hall for the new Oxhey Hall Estate and a hall and nursery school on Eastbury Road, as well as improvements to St Matthew's. St Francis church and hall were built on the estate, but by 1970 the church was no longer viable. It was closed and the site in Oaklands Avenue, next to the nursery school, was sold off and redeveloped.
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Last updated 11/04/03 09:00:00 Author: Colin Richards