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A LIVING CHURCH

On this page and subsequent pages, you will find a brief account of the Parish Church of St. Faith, to which for almost a thousand years men and women of Havant have come to worship God; to give thanks to Him for all His blessings; to seek strength and inspiration to do His will.

While we are proud of our ancient tradition, we are conscious that church history is still in the making.  Day by day the worship of God continues in this church building.  The Church of God, His family in this place, must go out to do His will.

So we ask your prayers that God may also guide us, that we may worthily maintain the faith of our forefathers, worship Him in sincerity and truth, and show in our community the Christian love and service of which the building is an abiding symbol.

Havant Church is dedicated to St. Faith, the girl martyr of Aquitaine.  This dedication has existed since the eleventh century, and there has been a church of St. Faith at Havant on this spot for about nine centuries.  Of the original Saxon, or Norman, church nothing definitely remains, although it is probable that some of the stonework is older material re-used.

There is let into the wall of the west end, near to the font, a peculiarly carved stone.  This was found in the rubble filling the tower when it was rebuilt in the 19th century.  The carving has been called part of a Saxon font but it was very likely executed much later.  Even so, it is probably the earliest stone fragment in the church.

There is a possibility that some of the brick in the wall is Roman.  When the church was being repaired in 1832 it was found to be standing on part of a Roman foundation.  The Saxon church was replaced in the 12th century, when the arches of the crossing were set up, and a nave of three bays was continued towards the west.  The original height of this nave was the same as that of the present chancel.

The chancel, the oldest undisturbed part of the building, was constructed in the early 13th century.  It was originally lit by the lancet windows in the north and south walls of each bay, of which that on the north-east survives.  The original east window also probably consisted of three of these lancets.  North and south transepts in similar style completed the building.

In the 14the century an extra storey was apparently added to the tower; the lancets in the chancel were replaced, with one exception, by the present windows.  A vestry was built on the north-east bay of the chancel, and the lancet window was buried in the new wall to be preserved for posterity.

Later too, the triple lancet at the east end was replaced by a perpendicular window, and the north transept aisle was added, probably in the late 15th century, to be the chantry and tomb of Sir Richard Dalyngridge, Lord of the Manor of Wade.  The chantry lapsed before 1547.

This completed the church as it was to remain until the 19th century.  In 1832 the nave was found to be very unsafe.  It was taken down and a new one built, also of three bays, but higher than before, and without aisles.  The resulting structure was adequate but not very handsome.

Then, in about 1870, it was discovered that the removal of the nave and its rebuilding had seriously affected the strength of the tower.  This was on the point of collapse, and in fact was only saved by the brick supports inserted in 1832.

From then until 1875 the whole of the western end of the church was remodelled.  The tower was taken down to the level of the crossing arches, which were strengthened and repaired, and was then rebuilt to the old plan with the original materials.  The nave was rebuilt, this time with aisles, and was extended one bay to the west.  The north porch was added, and the south transept aisle built on the pattern of that on the north.  This resulted in the building which you see today.

There are two blocked doorways near the chancel arch; the lower one originally gave access to the staircase in the tower from the church; the upper led from this to the rood loft? The two bosses in the chancel vault are thought to show French influence.  Situated in one of the blocked doorways is a statue depicting our patron St. Faith, installed in memory of Doris Norkett, who gave many years of devoted service to the church.

Researched  by Mr. AJC Reger

The stained glass windows are not of high quality and are chiefly interesting as memorials.

There is a window on the North side of the Church commemorating the valiant service of HMS HAVANT (H32) at Dunkirk, 1940.

"To the glory of God and in memory of all who served in her"

There is also a memorial window by the North door to Robert George Grant in recognition of 25 years as Chairman of the Fabric Committee of St. Faith's Church, Havant.

Robert Grant was a local Chartered Surveyor who lived in the Parish for over 50 years and spent a considerable time arranging and instructing the repairs and maintenance of the Church, Church House and the Church Hall.

The window has been designed to encompass aspects of his work for the buildings and as a surveyor.  In  addition to the buildings, the red striped staff signifies the Fellowship of  The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors as their symbol and at the bottom of the window are a ruler (scale) and tape measure, being the tools of the trade.

The window uses many glass types from England and Europe incorporating both modern and traditional methods.  The Church and Church House were photographed, scanned on the computer and then etched, shot blasted onto the glass then fired at very high temperatures.  The window has been put together with the traditional method of leading with copper ties and glazing bars and faced externally with modern polycarbonate glass to resist vandalism.

The window was designed and manufactured by Venessa Cutler, a local designer and stained glass artist who is a lecturer (in 1999) at Wolverhampton University, which is recognised as one of the leading universities in glass design and technology.

St. Faith's Turret Clock

The turret mechanism by J W Benson of London was installed at St Faith’s Church around 1860 when the tower of the church was rebuilt.  In 1975 it was considered to be too unreliable for modern purposes and was replaced. A local architect, Mr. T K Makins FRIBA, rescued the mechanism together with the weights, pendulum, leading off rods and a pair of the original hands.  He kindly donated it in 1988 to Hampshire County Museum Service and conservators from Hampshire Museums and Archives Service painstakingly restored it where it can be seen in "The Spring", which is the new name for Havant Arts Centre and Havant Museum.

The current clock was installed late-1989 and commissioned in January 1990.  It has an inter-linked electrically operated striking system which incorporates night silencing.  

Assembled in the Havant Museum - 2009

John Philip Blake

"In Memoriam John Philip Blake MC [BA Cantab] Acting Captain Royal Marines Killed in Action while serving with the 43rd Commandos 2nd June 1944"

So reads the inscription on the fine oak lectern in St Faith's Church, Havant. As a fellow Royal Marine I undertook some research into John Blake about his life locally, how he won his Military Cross and he met his untimely death. And very rewarding research it was too.

John Blake was born in Portsmouth on 17 November 1917 above the surgery in High St, Portsmouth where his father was a dentist. The family later moved to what was then Wade Cottage in Wade Court Road, Havant where he, his two sisters and brother had an idyllic childhood. He went first to Emsworth House School and then, to Aldenham as a Scholar and finally Head Boy. From there he read Maths at St John's College, Cambridge and became a double Blue in Cricket and Hockey. In 1939 he played 14 games for Hampshire County Cricket team, scoring over 1,000 runs, and also became a Maths master at Sherborne School.

John Blake joined the Royal Marines in 1940 and took part in the abortive Dakar expedition. On return his battalion went through the arduous commando course at Achnacarry, in Scotland and converted into 43 Royal Marine Commando (450 men at full strength) arriving in North Africa later in 1943. In January 1944 the commando landed against light opposition at Anzio in Italy, gained its objectives and was withdrawn to Naples. The US General in command then lost the initiative and, in Churchill's words "instead of flinging a wild cat ashore we were left with a stranded whale" when the Germans reacted with their usual efficiency. 43 Commando was recalled and with 9 Army Commando given the task of capturing three peaks with bare, rocky, precipitous slopes to extend the bridgehead over the River Garigliano. After a long and exhausting night climb under mortar and machine gun fire Captain John Blake's D Troop seized Monte Ornito (2,400ft). For this fine achievement he was awarded the Military Cross for his bravery, leadership and navigational skills.

After withstanding a German counterattack which came within grenade throwing range, 43 Commando was withdrawn and ordered to the island of Vis in the Adriatic. The Germans had mounted a big offensive against Tito's partisans in Western Bosnia and Tito asked for a large scale operation on the Dalmation coast to distract them. It was decided to attack the island of Brac where the enemy was 1,200 strong with mutually supporting strong points each sited on top of a hill South of the village of Nerezisca. A joint British/Partisan force was divided into four to tackle each of the objectives. The main force included 43 Commando. D Day was 2 June. Unfortunately with radio problems causing confusion and half hearted moves by the partisans, 43 Commando attacked unsupported. Hard fighting ensued in which five officers including two Troop Commanders, one of whom was John Blake, were killed. Thus ended the life of a courageous leader and outstanding young Englishman who died in the service of his country. May he be reminded of his example when lessons are read from the Lectern which salutes his life and commemorates his name.

Researched by Lt Col Peter Thomas RM

St. Faith's Bells History

For more History on St. Faith's Church click on a blue link below:

Saint Faith of Aquitaine

The Lady Chapel

St. Nicholas’ Chapel, Langstone

Rectors of Havant

St. Faith's Churchyard

Christ Church Centre, Denvilles

HMS Havant

Church Hall

Church House

Church Shop