Witley Court

Imagine finding a Baroque church  with ornate interior in regular use next to a huge stately home ravaged by fire in 1937, in the middle of the country! St Michael and All Angels Witley Court!
The church was originally built in two years (1733-5) to the west of the Court by Thomas, 2nd Lord Foley to designs possibly by James Gibbs (1682-1754). It had a plain brick exterior to match the  Court as it was then. It has always been a parish church rather than a family chapel.

In 1747 something remarkable happened. The Duke of Chandos had built his great house at Canons, at Stanmore, norh London. THis included a chapel designed by James Gibbs built before 1719. After that he had lost a  fortune and after his death in 1744 the estate at Canons had to be solf off. Foley found out about the chapel and bought  the box pews, several ceiling paintings by Antonio Bellucci (1654-1726), 10 stained glass windows  in 38 sections filling 5 crates, and the ornamental organ case of the instrument played by Handel.  The paintings could be moved because they were on canvas and could be rolled up. The plasterwork by Giovanni Bagutti could not be dismounted so detailed drawings and moulds were made so they could be recreated at Witley by Italian stucco workers. Therefore elaborate plasterwork  replaced the original ceiling at Witley, suspended by a timber framework. They needed to lighten the weight of this ceiling so they employed a new invention - papier mache - by Henry Clay of Birmingham, and therefore some of what we see today employs guilded papier mache.

Luckily the church at Witley was roughly the same size as the Canons chapel. The windows required wooden frames to hold them with a golden yellow border at the bottom to fit the required space.

The disastrous fire at the Court in 1937 led to problems and decline and it was only in the 1960s that parish members took the initiative to renovate. The major restoration of 1993-4 was followed by the cupola repair and guilding of the dome in 2004/5.

Perhaps we may regret the loss of the box pews and their replacement by Victorian pews. Alas the organ pipes went elsewhere and what you hear today is a rebuild by Nicholson of Worcester from 1860. However it is a remarkbale interior and anyone who has loved the Stanmore church should not miss this one!

Look at that organ case! (Flickr : Ed Jeavens)

What an interior (Flickr bv14092)

Exterior view  (Flickr : Richard Wise)

Look at that ceiling (Fickr bvl4092)

Whitchurch

I cannot over recommend this church! St Lawrence, Little Stanmore, (or Whitchurch as it was formerly known), is a famous small church in north London. It was an 18th century  rebuild of a late medieval church to accompany the huge nearby country house called Canons, the residence of  James Brydges, first Duke of Chandos. (1674-1744). He was Paymaster General to John Churchill Duke of Marlborough on his campaigns. He must have had his hand in the till because he came out of it with a large fortune. Also he married Mary Lake of Canons and on his retirement bought their family home, pulled it down and rebuilt the huge Baroque palace for which he became famous.The cost of upkeep proved all too much and the second Duke demolished it and sold off the contents in 1747-53. Only the church remained.

It is unique among parish churches in England in retaining nearly all the original woodwork and paintings restored 1973-1984. The woodwork  includes Corinthian columns by Grinling Gibbons no less - restored to their original golden oak colour in the 1970s.The result is an interior very much like it was in the early 18th century. But this is not the English baroque of Christopher Wren but the continental baroque which I love so much! The only similar chapels that I can call to mind are Chatsworth in Derbyshire and Wimpole Hall in Cambridgeshire.

The church was designed by John James. He left only the 14th century tower to create a new vessel which has been filled by remarkable trompe l'oeil effect by the Frenchman Louis Laguerre. (1663-1721).Laguerre was a pupil of Charles le Brun and came in England in 1683 and worked as an assistant to Antonio Verrio (the creator of the remarkable wall paintings at Burghley House in Stamford). Exactly how much Laguerre contributed is unclear and who undertook other works will never be verified through lack of documentation.The decoration around the walls and  roof contain no biblical references, but concentrate on producing the effects of columns, urns, niches, putti and a dome. In the church the visitor is met with paintings over the altar of the adoration of Jehovah (anon.); to the right of the altar by the Holy Family (Antonio Bellucci); to the left  of the altar by the descent from the Cross (Bellucci); various miracles on the ceiling (Laguerre)and on the walls of the nave are Evangelists and Virtues.(Francesco Sleter). Finally on the half dome abobe the west gallery or Chandos pew is  a view of the Transfiguration. (Bellucci) With the imitation sky in the retrochoir lit by a concealed window and trompe l'oeil statues in dramatic poses and the painted scenes on walls and ceiling it is a trully remarkable interior for England!

The organ is believed to have been played by George Frideric Handel who worked at Canons 1717-1718 and wrote the eleven Chandos anthems, a Te Deum, Acis and Galatea and Haman and Mordecai (later morphed into Esther) while there. The anthems must have been performed in the church because the chapel in the house was not finished then.We can easily  imagine the Duke sitting up in his central box at the back of the church with his bodyguard and servants in the other boxes!

The church is a regular concert venue and the acoustic is superb. I attended a 2016 Handel Festiival concert of music which would have been performed at Canons : tremendously atmospheric. Magic!

The adjacent mausoleum was added by the first Duke after the death of his second wife. Designed by James Gibbs and decorated with trompe l'oeil columns and figures by Gaetano Brunetti, it also featiures a large monument to the Duke designed by Grinling Gibbons. It is a remarkable space.

The photos date from a Sunday summer afternoon in 2017 when Paula and I last visited. The church is in regular use but visiting hours are limited so do check the web site. You will not be disappointed.

                              

Transfiguration scene by Bellucci

Pews and trompe l'oeil

Altar area with Handel organ and paintings by Bellucci

Duke of Chandos' box

View from the Chandos box

Trompe l'oeil 

External view

Mausoleum and monument to the Duke

Mausoeum and monument

Another view of pews and trompe l'oeil