The oldest building in the Royal Borough of New Windsor, the ancient Parish Church of Clewer is situated on the river bank about one mile west of Eton bridge, and some 200 yards from the Windsor Coach Park. There is a fine avenue of yew trees, leading from Clewer Court Road, and a magnificent cedar tree in the large churchyard. Some of the tomb stones are worth noting for their beautiful sculpture, especially a monument to Earl Harcourt, who died in 1830, by R. W. Sievier, who was also the sculptor of the Harcourt monument in St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.

Immediately inside the church the south chapel and aisle were originally the chancel and nave of the Norman church, built during Henry l's reign, 1100-1135.

The first addition to this original building was the present nave erected later in the 12th century. The caps of the massive, round pillars in the south arcade have volute mouldings, and the circular arches have indented ornamentation, while the bases of the pillars show evidence of conventional embellishments at the corners.

The next addition to the church was the north aisle. It will be noted that the arcading between the nave and the north aisle is different from that on the south. The arches are plain, and the abacus of the head of the pillars has a simple, moulded edge. The small arch at the east end was probably the doorway to the staircase leading to the rood loft. The date of this aisle is about 1180. This is shown by the blocked lances window visible only from the outside of the church.

Elias Ashmole, 1617-1692, says in his Antiquities of Berkshire that in this aisle there is a tomb with a Saxon inscription, but no trace of it can be found to-day. In all probability it is covered by pews. The aisle has a fine trussed, tie-beam roof; the three westernmost bays being medieval.

Before the Chantry Chapel was built at the east end of the south aisle, the main altar of the church stood beyond the arch which now divides the Chantry Chapel from the body of the church. This arch is without doubt the oldest in the church. The large space between the arch and the roof contained in former days the Holy Rood, fixed on the wall. The circular-headed twin windows at the west end are evidently original. The windows in the south wall and the beautiful, early English doorway made of chalk belong a much later date.

It will be noted that the older parts of the church are built not of stone but of chalk. This had probably been quarried locally from the chalk cliff on which Windsor Castle now stands. It was from this cliff that Clewer gained its original name of 'Cliff Wara' or 'Clivore' . . . meaning 'cliff dwellers'.

During the 14th century the nave was improved by raising the roof and inserting the clerestory windows. The inside roof of the nave and south aisle is not ancient, but there are indications in the ends of the ancient tie-beams of an earlier roofing, probably thatched.

The present chancel was restored about 1858 by Henry Woodyer and contains no evidence of Norman work; but there is no doubt that in its original form it was built at the same time as the nave.

The Victorian Reredos behind the High Altar is by Woodyer. It shows 12 Patriarchs representing the twelve tribes of Israel and the Apostles representing the new Israel, the Church. The central figure of Our Lord has the body made of alabaster and the head of white marble.

The present-day patrons of the benefice of Clewer are the Provost and Fellows of Eton College, but this was not always the case. Until 1692 Clewer was one of the livings vested in the Crown. How the transfer took place is an extraordinary story. Charles Seymour, sixth Duke of Somerset, who had married the only daughter and heir of Percy, the last Earl of Northumberland, was one of the most powerful peers of the realm and stood high in royal favour. He was commonly known as "the proud Duke" and many tales were told of his haughty magnificence.

His favourite residence was at Petworth in Sussex, the benefice of which was in the gift of Eton College. The Duke wanted this for himself so made an offer to Eton to exchange the Petworth living for livings which he held in Yorkshire. The Provost and Fellows refused: they liked to appoint one of their own number to College livings and they would not countenance one so far away.

The Duke set about finding some parishes nearer to Eton which they might accept and he hit upon the parishes of Clewer, Farnham Royal and Worplesdon, in Surrey. The Crown held the patronage of all three, but it was easy for the Duke, with his influence, to persuade the Crown to accept them for two parishes in Yorkshire and one in Northumberland. He then had no difficulty in exchanging, with Eton College, the benefices of Clewer, Farnham Royal, and Worplesdon, for Petworth.

The Duke not only effected this triangular exchange, he got Parliament to give it legal authority. An Act was passed in the fourth year of William and Mary (1693) confirming the exchanges. By this Act, then, the patronage of Clewer passed to Eton College. The Act stated: "The said Advowsons, perpetuall Patronages, and Rights of Presentation of and to the said Churches and Rectories of Clewer, Farnham-Royall and Worplesdon, shall be settled and vested in the Provost of the Colledge Royall of the Blessed Mary of Eaton, near unto Windsor, in the County of Bucks., and the said Colledge and their successors."

In spite of this settlement, however, in 1750 on the death of Algernon, Seventh Duke of Somerset, his nephew and heir, Sir Charles Wyndham, contested the right of the Crown to present incumbents to the Yorkshire parishes which the Crown had acquired from Somerset. Thereupon the Crown similarly contested the rights of Eton College as they related to Clewer, Farnham Royal and Worplesdon.

Litigation followed and it dragged on for years. In 1774, however, the right of Eton College to the three parishes was ratified. It is strange to consider that the Eton/Clewer relationship came about because of the arrogant whim of a 17th Century Duke who neither knew nor cared about Clewer but wished to control every aspect of life in Petworth which was his home.

Had the Duke not been set on having Petworth, then Thomas Carter would not have been appointed to Clewer in 1844 (he came directly because of the Eton connection), there would have been no Convent, and a whole chapter of 19th century church history would have been entirely different.

Clewer Church was closed during August 1901 for repairs both to the roof and to the interior. The contractor was Mr. Reavell and the cost was expected to be about £500. The Rector had issued an appeal and £381 had come in immediately. Sir Francis Tress gave £170, Sir Daniel Gooch (junior) gave £100, Squire Foster gave £25. the Provost and Fellows of Eton College gave £15.

Note: the Rector at the time was Arthur Thomas Carnsew Cowie.

The twelfth century font deserves special attention. It is tub shaped, and has a flat zig-zag frieze at the top; and arches with elementary leaves in the spandrels. A notable feature of the font is the cable ornamentation at the base. The flat oak lid is plain, with fine old iron decoration, and is made in such a way that it can be locked.

This was done so that the consecrated water used for baptisms could not be taken away and used for superstitious purposes. The font was re-sited close to the south door in 1967 by the generosity of Mrs G. G. Payne-Cook, the wife of one of the Rectors of Clewer.

The tower of St Andrew's was built about 1180 and the flint rubble work of the lower part as seen from outside is original. On the south side of the tower there can be traced quite clearly the difference between the old and the more modern work. The arch which divides the tower from the body of the church is worthy of note. It is 12th century. The spire is of shingle and was restored in 1814, and again in the 1950s with Canadian red cedar shingles, and the church has been completely re-roofed.

Inscriptions and dates: One bell, installed in 1897, has no inscription. A bell installed in 1862 is inscribed "Cum Angelis" and others hung in the same year are inscribed "Jubilate Deo" and "Adeste Fidelis." A bell installed in 1866 is inscribed "Dominus Regnavit" and another installed in the same year but re-hung in 1967 is inscribed "Benedictus Dominus."

A hatchment is the arms of a family, usually of local prominence, often found hanging in old churches. In Clewer Church hangs the hatchment of the Berry family who had a long and close connection with Clewer Church. It is painted in oil on canvas. The late Maurice Bond, who was Librarian to the House of Lords, wrote the following note about this hatchment:

"This is a very ancient coat of arms: azure, two lions, passant guardant, "or" - and it seems to have been first blazoned in 1313. It was certainly officially recorded in 1576. Sir Francis Tress Barry (buried in Clewer Churchyard) was born in 1825. He became Consul in Portugal, where he had much to do with the wine trade and "where he was created Baron de Barry".

Back in England he was created a baronet in 1899. He was M.P. for Windsor from 1890 to 1906. He bought St. Leonard’s Hill in 1872 and rebuilt the original house which had been built for the Countess of Waldegrave by Thomas Sandby (1721 - 1798).Tress Barry’s son, the second Baronet, bought Ockwells Manor in Bray. Very oddly the second Baronet's arms are given in the Victoria County History as "argent, three gimel bar gules between two wolves' heads raised sable and a trefoil vert in the foot."

Both the original arms, as in the hatchment, and the second Baronet's, can be seen in the Tress Berry memorial tablet on the north wall of the church.

People ask why the hatchment depicts the Red Hand of Ulster. Maurice Bond explained that as baronetcies were created in 1611 in connection with the colonisation of Ulster, all baronets can augment their arms with the hand whether there is any personal connection or not.

NOTE: Ockwells Manor, which still stands, was bought by the second Baronet from Lord Desborough.

The answer may be found on the black slab which marks her grave half way down the north aisle of Clewer Church. The date is not immediately clear: it appears to read "One hundred and seventy three and two thirds," (the date is given in figures.) The explanation is that Barbara Duck died in January of the year which we would call 1773 but as this was long before the Calendar Act of 1752 there were still people who took the new year to start not on January 1st but on Lady Day, March 25th. Such people, therefore, took the period from January 1st to March 25th as belonging to the previous year. Thus the stonemason who carved Barbara Duck's stone gives the reader a choice: 1732/33 but he carved it thus: 173²/₃ It is said that Barbara Duck's husband, Thomas, who died in 1704 was responsible for building the house which is now Wood’s Pharmacy.

Next time you walk down the north aisle of Clewer Church, pause to look at the black stone set in the floor just before the Lady Chapel. It marks the last resting place of a man who won distinction in his own time for his phenomenally detailed knowledge of the roads in Britain. He was Daniel Paterson who was born in 1739. A soldier by profession he was gazetted as an ensign in the 30th Foot in 1765. By 1798 he was a Lieutenant Colonel and became "Assistant to the Quarter Master General of His Majesty's Forces at the Horse Guards."

In 1771 he published a book which came to be known as "Patersons Roads." Its full title was "A New and Accurate Description of all the Direct and Principal Cross Roads in Great Britain."It contained an alphabetical list of all the cities, boroughs, ports and market towns; "direct roads from London to all the cities, towns and remarkable villages" and "the circuits of the judges."

(Note: "remarkable" in this context, means "worthy of notice")

This book, which went into 18 editions, (the last being published in 1829) became invaluable to the Army "as by its use all the distances of military marches were calculated and charged in the public accounts. "Paterson wrote three other books, two of which were also about roads. The third was "A Topographical Description of the Island of Grenada." Paterson was made Lieutenant Governor of Quebec in 1812 and held the post until his death, though he certainly did not live there for all that time. His death, in 1828, took place at the home of his friend, Colonel Dare of Clewer Green, which is how he came to be buried in Clewer Church.

In the Appendix appears the will of James Durdant. He left a number of items to his daughter, Martha Fuller. Her death was registered an August 27th 1689. It was Martha Fuller who, in 1687, gave Clewer Church its most valuable single possession the silver-gilt flagon which is on loan to the V. and A. Museum and may be seen in Room 74. Her name is engraved on the flagon as the donor. It will be seen from Durdant's will that his bequest to Martha included his plate, so it may well be that Clewer's flagon, which was actually made in the reign of Charles I, years before the church acquired it, was originally his. The small spout on the flagon is believed to be a later addition and may have been added when the flagon came to the church.

Until 1975 this Chapel had a nondescript altar backed by a blue curtain suspended from something that looked like a gas pipe. In front of it hung a fly-blown print of the Virgin and Child.

By great good fortune the present altar and reredos were obtained for the cost of transport and installation. Long ago, in Hawley, Hampshire, there was an orphanage, founded in 1881, under the aegis of the Clewer Sisters. When the orphanage closed and was demolished the Chapel remained to serve as a daughter-church for Hawley. However, the new development in Hawley took place on the other side of the town and the Chapel was no use. It was decided to sell it, but the vicar of Hawley decided that the altar and reredos should come to Clewer. Denis Shaw and Sister Eudora went to inspect it and it was accepted. The Lady Chapel credence table also came with it. It was a matter of regret that Clewer could not also acquire a window which was offered. It depicted St. John the Evangelist with the immediately recognisable face of Rector T.T.Carter. But there was nowhere it could have been installed.

Around the walls of the church are the Stations of the Cross designed in 1944. And in the porch can be seen a new Holy Water Stoup presented in 1968.

The whole church was redecorated in 1967, when the dark Victorian screen by Henry Woodyer and the pulpit were painted in medieval colours, and the chandeliers (previously black and rusty) were restored to their original colours of blue and gold.

Mr Roderick Gradidge was the architect in control of the plans for the redecoration of the church. He was born on January 3rd, 1929, educated in India and at Stowe School. He studied at the Architectural Association, then in the offices of architects at Oxford and Cambridge. His entry for the Liverpool Cathedral competition was one of eighteen commended. He took up private practice in 1964, and his first commission was to design the addition to the Lodge of St Andrew's. He has undertaken the restoration of various country houses, and is deeply involved in the work of the Victorian Society, and is on its various sub-committees for the restoration of buildings. It was Mr Gradidge who designed the steps and raised platform on which the Font at St Andrew's now stands. He designed the pattern on the screen and the pulpit; and his imaginative use of colour transformed the whole church, and we were fortunate indeed to have someone not only competent, but supremely artistic to undertake such a task.

For years Clewer Church had a beautifully carved angel, with a hole in its head, just standing about. Then, Denis Shaw realised, from seeing a similar carving in a Cornish church, that it had been a lectern. The late Mrs. Dorothy Shields, a great benefactor to the church, had it restored, having it fitted with a desk and a base. The restorers pronounced that the angel dates back to the time of Charles II, which is very likely if, as stated on another page, the church suffered under the Puritans. The restorers also told us that the angel is made of limewood.

An enormous and handsome chair stands near the pulpit in Clewer Church. It serves as the Bishop’s throne when there is a confirmation. The chair came from St.Stephen's High School for GirlsError! Bookmark not defined., a private school under the aegis of the Convent, which stood on Oxford Road and Vansittart Road. The school was founded in 1882 and on the occasion of its Golden Jubilee in 1932 the chair was presented to the Head, Muriel Joan Porcher. The school closed in 1934 and the chair was given to Clewer Church. The school’s badge - a daffodil - is carved on the chair.

On the south wall of the chancel there is an ancient and interesting brass in memory of Lucie Hobson, and opposite is a very beautiful and elegant bronze by W. Bainbridge Reynolds in memory of the famous saint and scholar, Thomas T. Carter, one of the leaders of the Oxford Movement, and Rector of the Parish from 1844 - 1880. He then became Warden of the Community of St John the Baptist, which he founded in Hatch Lane, Clewer, until his death in 1901, when the pall-bearers at his funeral were Viscount Halifax, Col. Drummond Hay, Fr. Benson, S.S.J.E., and the Revd R. A. Suckling.

It was through Mr Gradidge [see later section on redecoration] that Mr Anthony Ballantine, a young and very talented artist was commissioned to paint the mural on the tympanum. He was born in London in 1933, and attended the A.A. School of Architecture between 1951-55, then the Interior Design School at the Royal College of Art from 1955-58; since when he has worked on his own with designers and architects on murals and decorative panels, including four relief panels set in the screen of St Chad's, Birmingham, which is now re-erected at Holy Trinity, Reading. He lectures on interior design and design history at the Polytechnic of North London, and has a special interest in Victorian designers.

The difficult task of designing and painting a mural for so ancient a church as St Andrew's he overcame with consummate artistry and apparent ease. The mural depicts the Risen Lord flanked by St Andrew, Our Lady, St Agnes, St George, and tiny kneeling figures of Canon Carter and Sir Bernard Brocas.

It was on January 25th, 1968, when all was ready and it was the 25th anniversary of Fr. Cyprian Dymoke-Marr's induction at St Andrew's, that the Primate of all England, Dr Michael Ramsey, came to preach at St Andrew's.

Chantry Chapels were frequently set up in the late middle ages. The thought of death increasingly dominated people's minds, and to speed the passage of souls to heaven provision was made to ensure prayers for the dead. An altar was set aside, or even a special building or chapel, in which a specially appointed priest would sing (cantare) mass and say his offices for the salvation of the soul of the founder. The Chantry Chapel, or Brocas Chapel as it is now called, at the east end of the south aisle was almost the last addition made to the church, being built by Sir Bernard Brocas, friend of the Black Prince, to the memory of Mary, his wife, in the 14th century. There is a piscine and an Easter sepulchre in the south wall of this chapel, both of 14th century origin. On Maundy Thursday a crucifix and a consecrated Wafer would be placed in the Easter Sepulchre until Easter Day and a vigil kept before them to commemorate the Crucifixion.

In the Brocas Chapel there is also an amusing brass to Martine Expense:

"He that lieth under this stone
Shott with a hundred men himself alone
This is trew that I doe say
The matche was shots in oulde filde at Bray
l will tell you before you go hence
That his name was Martine Expense."

The window on the south wall at the eastern end of the Brocas Chapel is by Sir Ninian Comper. It is remarkable for the very young (beardless) representation of Our Lord. The shields on the window are those of the Brocas family, the Errington family, and the Cowie family. The angel with the musical instrument was included by the request of Rector Errington's brother, to symbolise the late Rector's love of music. Rector Errington "died immediately on the conclusion of a piece of music he had written."

The reredos of the Brocas Chapel altar is by F. E. Howard, an architect, who "considered it the most successful attempt he had yet made to represent the great mystery of our redemption: and the one Sacrifice which is the crown and consecration for all Sacrifice". This is a war memorial to those fallen in the 1914-1918 war. It depicts the Crucifixion, with SS Michael, George, Nicholas and Joan. St. Nicholas serves as "a double representative": first, of the sailors who had laid down their lives, and secondly of the six hundred Etonians who were killed, as he is not only the Patron Saint of sailors, but of boys, and as such one of the Patrons of Eton, Eton College being the Patron of the Living of St. Andrew's. The figure of St. Joan of Arc is one of the first to be set up in an English church after her canonisation. Professor Montagu Burrows, a descendant of the Brocas family, was a contributor to the memorial.

In Clewer Church there is a brass plaque commemorating a direct descendant of the Lords of the Isles. It is on the sloping stonework of the first window as one enters the Brocas Chapel. The plaque is in memory of John Somerled Macdonald, "direct descendant in the male line of the Lords of the Isles." He died in 1876 and was the son of "A.R.R.Macdonald of the Bengal Army." Another plaque, alongside, records the death of his sister, Lleila Flora who was the wife of Francois de Canrobert, Marechal de France. Canrobert was born in Brittany in 1809. He entered the French army as a Private in 1830 but by 1853 he had become a "General of Division" and in the following year he went to the Crimea to command the 1st Division under Marechal St. Arnaut. On the death of the latter Robert was raised to command the French army and "fought bravely at Inkerman." He was created Marechal in 1856.

But who were the Lords of the Isles? History records that the title was borne by Donald of Islay who, in 1346, brought the Hebrides under his sway. The title had been borne by others for centuries before and continued to be borne by his successors. One of Sir Walter Scott's metrical romances bears the title "Lord of the Isles." it is said that the title belongs to the Princes of Wales but this is hard to reconcile with the Macdonald claim.

On the north and south sides of the arch inside the Brocas Chapel are two brasses commemorating the twin daughters of Admiral Sir Edward Codrington. Codrington was involved in the Battle of Navarino in 1827 after which he got the Order of the Garter. King George IV disapproved of Codrington's involvement, without sufficient authority, in the battle, and is said to have remarked "I gave him the ribbon but he should have had the rope".

The window at the end of the south aisle of Clewer Church is by the famous Kempe, as may be seen from his "trademark" a sheaf of wheat in the bottom corner. It depicts St.Ambrose and St.Augustine composing the Te Deum. At the beginning of this century it was moved from a site near the organ to its present site and, in the move, an odd mistake was made.

The names of the saints were transposed: Augustine is labelled Ambrose and vice versa. How do we know?

(1) Ambrose was traditionally the older man - hence the beard.
(2) Augustine’s symbol is a burning heart (the small figure on the front of the lady chapel altar is holding one) The burning heart on the window is on the lectern in the "Ambrose" window.
(3) When Augustine was converted he heard a voice say "take up and read." He read a verse from the Epistles, then, in his own words, put a finger in the page and closed the book. In the window the saint labelled Ambrose has his finger in a closed book.

The unpleasant pink glass at the top of the window fills a space which did not exist in the original site, and the plain glass round the main parts of the window indicates that the original site was slightly smaller.

The Kempe window is in memory of William Glover. Glover was for many years tapissier to Queen Victoria. He is buried on the south side of the east end of the church. Unfortunately the grave stone was vandalised in the 1970s.This was particularly sad because of the inscriptions on the reverse of the stone which recorded the two dates on which the Queen visited the grave and "strewed flowers upon it."

The Brownings

In the Brocas Chapel, on the west wall, to the right of the arch, are two large brasses of distinctly pre-Raphaelite design. One of these commemorates Mrs. Mariana Margaret Browning, and the other her daughter, Mariana Alice. These two ladies kept "a private school for young ladies" in Windsor in the latter part of the 18th century. The school was called "The Beehive." Mr. Browning's son, Oscar, was an Eton master but he was sacked in 1875 having brought about his dismissal himself, it was said, "by his injudicious talk, his favourites, and his anarchic spirit."

He retired to a Fellowship at King's College, Cambridge, where he achieved a reputation as a wit. He was universally known as "O.B."

Prior to the redecoration of the whole church in 1967 the Winged Victory Crucifix was placed above the archway leading to the Brocas Chapel. This fine piece of sculpture is by Josephina de Vasconsellos F.R.B.S. an artist of great merit, who sculpted the war memorial at Aldershot, the Crib in St Paul's, and the Madonna and Child with St Joseph in Gloucester Cathedral. The Winged Victory was presented by Fr Cyprian and Mrs Dymoke-Marr in memory of their son Simon, who died tragically while on holiday in Spain. Miss Vasconsellos considers this to be one of her finest works. It was shown on television on the Palm Sunday Programme, "Seeing and Believing" end provoked much comment and admiration. The Radio Times and the Church Times devoted interesting articles to this artist's achievements. ,

A black stone slab set in the floor of Clewer Church, just inside the door, marks the last resting place of Henry Proctor. It has an inscription in Latin. Proctor, who died in 1774 at the age of 63 had been a judge in South Wales. He was a member of a family which had local associations with the parish for hundreds of years. Their home was the mansion known as Clewer Park. Rector TT Carter's mother was a Proctor. Carter himself recorded that a Proctor ancestor was in Windsor when Cromwell’s soldiers took Charles I from Windsor Castle to send him on his way to London for execution. Proctor bowed and doffed his hat to the king, whereupon the soldiers pushed him into the ditch.

Clewer Parish and Rectory "became during Carter's incumbency of forty years, a famous centre of Victorian Church life. From it, pamphlets, petitions, sermons, theological works and books of devotion came forth in quantity - the British Museum catalogue gives Carter some 150 titles -profoundly influencing the strategy of the second generation of Tractarian leaders. Although Carter was thrice prosecuted for 'ritual excesses' and even petitioned against by 150 of his own parishioners, it was possible for H.P. Liddon to claim that 'few clergymen are loved and revered throughout the Church of England as Mr. Carter', and the name of the parish, invariably joined to Carter's own, became for the first, and indeed the only time, of world-wide significance." (Extract from 'Clewer Rectory' by Maurice Bond, published in the Berkshire Archaeological Journal, Vol. 61).

Those who remember the Old Rectory as an astonishingly harmonious amalgam of Jacobean, Georgian and Victorian architecture, mourn its demolition in 1963 in favour of a close of modern houses.

This lovely old Church by the Thames once stood beside a quiet, narrow, country lane surrounded by spacious meadows, with a peerless view of Windsor Castle from what is now Clewer Court Road, and the church is gradually being encroached upon by modern housing estates.

Nevertheless, on entering the church one is immediately aware of a deposit of holiness which has accrued down the centuries, where Priests and Laity have worshipped, and where: "that peace which passeth all understanding" still tranquilly prevails.

It is also of some historical interest to record that during Fr Cyprian's incumbency the Primate of Australia, the Most Reverend Philip Strong, K.B.E. C.M.G., also preached in Clewer Parish Church.